Substance Abuse

Substance Abuse

Substance Abuse is a problem for social workers around the country no matter where you go. There are a number of different social problems, and social systems that a social worker will have to deal with when working in this field. I will hope to address the problem of substance abuse, and the different techniques used in order to cure a client suffering from substance abuse.

Substance abuse social workers assess and treat individuals with substance abuse problems, which include the abuse of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs. According to Katherine Von Wormer an expert in substance abuse, "social workers treat people with these problems with individual and group therapy, outreach programs, crisis intervention, social rehabilitation, and training in skills of everyday living" (p. 25). Social workers may also help plan for supportive services to ease patients for their return to the community. Substance abuse social workers are likely to work in hospitals, substance abuse treatment centers, individual and family services agencies, and local governments. These social workers are commonly known as clinical social workers.

There are a number of steps that a social worker has to follow in order to treat a client dealing with substance abuse. They have to counsel clients in individual and group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse. They also have to interview clients, review records, and confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition of client or patient. A good social worker will also have to collaborate with counselors, physicians, and nurses to plan and coordinate treatments, to fit that particular patient's needs. They also have to monitor, evaluate, and record client progress with respect to treatment goals. "Social workers have to make sure that there treatment can serve the client according to their status" (Ehrenkranz, 1997, p. 3).

Working with substance abusing clients, social workers become skilled in many different areas that are important and valued in the community. These area's include problem focused orientation, and understanding the value of cognitive, behavioral and psycho educational approaches to treatment. "Social workers will understand the value of group and peer support, they will also understand the impact of family on both addiction and recovery" (Johnson, 2003, p. 51). The most important area for a social worker is accepting their own limitations in helping people.

Substance abuse has a very long history, because alcohol and tobacco have been around for hundreds of years. People had to have been abusing these products for many years now, but it has not been until recently has this addiction been characterized as substance abuse. One of the first centers for substance abuse was the Harmony Center in Colorado. Since its beginning in1969, the Harmony Foundation has thrived to become one of the country's most respected substance abuse treatment center's. This center sits on a 40-acre campus at the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park. The Harmony Center is a private, non-profit corporation organization specializing in the treatment of chemical dependency. They have a non-hospital detoxification and 28 day intensive residential treatment program. Their treatment begins with a professional assessment of the problems cause by the