Substance Addictions and Abuse Counseling

Substance abuse during pregnancy can have a negative force on the health and wellness of not only the fetus, but that of the mother. The harmful effects of medications, alcohol and illegal drugs on an unborn child can be devastating and can have significant consequences to its use. Sometimes the effects can be faced and treated, and other times the outcome is a lifelong challenge. During the prenatal period, it is important that new mothers are informed of the different types of abuse, how they may affect the fetus, and the adverse conditions their child may be faced with before and after birth.

Contact between an addictions counsellor and a client is usually initiated by the client referring him/her self, an outside agency refers them, family physician or the addictions counsellor initiates contact through outreach or other agencies. Assessment can be seen as the beginning of treatment and it becomes an opportunity to encourage the client to begin to move towards change. The initial assessment involves a mutual investigation and exploration between the client

When most people think of substance abuse and addiction counseling they often only think of the 12 step program or alcoholics anonymous. The truth is that an addiction counselor must have a vast knowledge in the

Currently, I am a counselor in training at East Carolina University within the Department of Addictions and Rehabilitation Studies. Upon graduation, I will be pursuing licensure as a Clinical Addiction Specialist and a Professional Counselor. I am working at the Navigate Counseling Clinic, under the supervision of Qunesha Hinton, who also serves as my ECU doctoral student supervisor. My faculty supervisor is Shari Sias, Associate Professor, Substance Abuse and Clinical Counseling Program Director at East Carolina University (office number: 252-744-6304; email: siass@ecu.edu) and facility supervisor is Dr. Leigh Atherton at Navigate Counseling Clinic (office number: 252-744-6300; email: athertonw@ecu.edu) .

Through the years, substance misuse in the United States has turned into an industrious issue influencing numerous people. In 2008, it was assessed that 17.8 million Americans beyond 18 years old where substance subordinate. Women who use medications during pregnancy can have an enduring impact on fetal. Medications can have an impact of maternal and child wellbeing, yet there are a lot of different variables, which influence it, poor social environment, nourishment, cleanliness, and sexual abuse. Regenerative interruption connected with heroin utilization has been shown in both and women and even low dosages of opiates can impede ordinary ovarian capacity and ovulation. The harm that goes hand in hand with substance utilization comes either straightforwardly from the impact of the medication itself or from issues identified with development and/or unexpected labor. The entanglements of jumbling components clamorous way of life, poor nourishment, liquor utilization and cigarette smoking influence the appraisal of the impacts of cocaine in pregnancy. In obstetric practice, 100% of pregnant women utilizing cocaine or heroin are cigarette smokers. Cigarette smoking is presumably the most well known manifestation of substance utilizes and is noteworthy corresponding considering ladies who use unlawful medications. Babies whose moms smoked in pregnancy have a tendency to have lower conception weights and diminished length, cranial and thoracic

First, the identification of a licensed chemical dependency counselor would suffice at the moment. A licensed chemical dependency counselor are counselors that specialize in identifying and treating addictive behaviors that are maladaptive, altered from cognitive imbalance, and from physiological discrepancies, or frequent intoxication to achieve homeostasis or functionality to some extent. In other words, licensed chemical dependency counselors establish and implement treatments to help people cure their addictions from substances which they are chemically dependent on. Second, the nature of chemical dependency is to be acknowledged. The nature of chemical dependency is not very well understood by human population. Many people see addictions as diseases, immoral behaviors or sins, as maladaptive behaviors, and some may view such substance dependence as out of control behaviors as well. However, chemical or substance dependency is a mental issue. The mind tells the body that it needs a certain substance to function, it is a craving that is difficult for the body to ignore, and the body cannot function until such a need is met. The change in behaviors, mood and conscious motivates the mind further to continue finding ways to meet this need. Therefore, there is not only an addiction, but a chemical dependency issue as well. It is strong and difficult to defeat. It is strong enough that it may cause some people to conduct criminal activities or infringe upon the rights and

The use of controlled substances throughout pregnancy is a very prevalent issue among society today. Controlled substances have devastating effects on not only the mothers using the substances, but also infants while they are in utero and after they are born. Many infants born to mothers, who are abusing drugs, suffer from life threatening illnesses and are forever affected through adulthood. Specifically, heroin is a common drug form that is often used during pregnancy and results in the life threatening effects mentioned above.

The Global Criteria for the 12 Core Functions of the Substance Abuse Counselor, by John Herman, defines treatment planning as the process by which the counselor and client identify and rank problems, establish immediate and long-term goals, and decide on the treatment resources to be utilized.  Treatment planning begins as soon as initial assessments are completed.

Substance abuse counseling can be a rewarding career for anyone who has a desire to help people who are battling an addiction to drugs or alcohol. A substance abuse counselor can work in hospitals, prisons, therapeutic facilities, and halfway houses. The purpose of a substance abuse counselor is to help those who have an addiction manage it. In this paper I will be discussing Texas state counseling laws and the ACA ethics code and how these two can guide my work as a substance abuse counselor. I will also discuss the characteristics of a counselor, review my strengths and any challenges I may have as a counselor, and discuss my perceptions of substance abuse that may impact my ability to become an effective counselor.

This is a Level 3 Unit which means that bullet pointing you answer is only acceptable when stated. All other answers need to be detailed and in a narrative format.The sizes of the boxes are not indicative of the size of your answer required to meet the national standards. Keep the formatting consistent with the original document. This helps to demonstrate your IT skills.Use spell check on your computer and check your grammar. This will provide evidence for your level 2 literacy which is recommended for a Level 3 award.

Stevens, P., & Smith, R. L. (2013). Substance abuse counseling: Theory and practice (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Many women, including teens, abuse drugs while they are pregnant. This rate is especially high to those who are homeless, underprivileged, or live in a broken home. In order for drug abusers to even have a chance at beating their addiction they have to have support whether it’s family, friends, or boyfriend/spouse. They must also let the abuser now all the consequences to themselves and the unborn child. There are many consequences when using drugs during pregnancy such as miscarriage, health risks to baby, and health risks to the mother. And learning disabilities and brain damage to the fetus.

Becoming a mother can be a rather challenging time for many parents, especially new parents. This experiment will educate women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant on the risks of their behaviors dealing with drugs and alcohol throughout their pregnancy. The purpose of this experiment is to show how often these horrible things happen to unborn children and the effects that drugs and alcohol have on children throughout the first few years of their life and throughout the course of their life, for some children. This experiment is also happening to try and prevent children from having these types of birth defects due to the lack of knowledge that parents have on the cons of abusing drugs and alcohol during the course of a pregnancy.​

As a child, I was surrounded by drug and alcohol addiction. In fact, I didn’t realize this was even abnormal until I was nearly a teenager and saw that not all of my friends’ parents used illegal drugs on a regular basis or threw wild parties every weekend. It was unfortunate, but it was my reality. Being surrounded by addiction made me do everything that I could to stay away from drugs and other illegal substances. I saw the toll it had taken on my friends and family and wanted no part of it. I wondered for years if there was even anything that I could do to help the ones I loved as they battled their demons. Over a year ago, my younger brother was placed in the drug court program. I began to ask about the process, his meetings, I wanted to hear anything he would share. My wife was in a counseling program and began to talk about addiction counseling and it peaked my interest. I made an appointment to talk to the enrollment coordinator for the program and the wheels began to spin in my head. I began to feel like there might actually be a way for me to reach out to a population that I knew needed help and that I felt close to. It was then that I began to think that I might have a calling to be an addictions counselor and help people who battled the same demons as many of my friends and family.

Counselling is generally provided either at the individual or group level. Individual counselling mainly focusses on reducing or stopping substance abuse with the help of a recovery plan, skill building and social and family and professional/educational outcomes. Group counselling on the other hand, is used in addition to individual counselling for social reinforcement for recovery.