Reflection Paper On Drug Abuse

Maria is an 18- year old bi-racial girl who lives with her parents and 7 year old brother. Maria is coming to the office because she has been placed on probation at school because she was caught stealing drugs from the nurse office. Maria has also been arrested when she was minor at a friend’s house for possession of a controlled substance. She was arrested once at the border where she was trying to get drugs across. Maria states that she “takes as much as she can get her hands on at the time.” This is a really frightening sentence to hear a client say because it shows that she has no regard for danger. Maria also shares that she just does not know if she can live if she does not have the pills to help her feel better. This makes it very clear …show more content…
I personal feel that addiction is a family disease and the whole family needs to be treated so that everyone can heal. Maria would need to seek medical detox center so that she can detox proper without any harm to herself and then seek an inpatient treatment center. I would encourage the family to seek the support of a family program which can help educated them and provide them with tools. I would also want the family to seek the Al-non. Whenever someone discloses to me that they are taking drugs illegal I always encourage them to seek medical advice and attention if they try to stop. For me as a therapist the biggest issues appear to be the mother’s denial about her daughter drug and alcohol use. By educating the family it can help them see what addiction is and what it does. The a family program who specializes in addiction can really help with this because …show more content…
The DSM-V states that the diagnosis of a substance use disorder is based on a pathological pattern of behaviors related to use of the substance. The vignette does not share what substance that Marie is taking nor does it give much information about whether or not she is having any withdrawal symptoms. The DSM states that the substance has to be causing some sort or distribution in the person life. These distributions are impaired control, social impairment, risky use, and possible pharmacological criteria. Impaired control is where an individual may take the substance in larger amounts or over longer periods of time then intended for. The person may want to cut down and is unable to. The individual may spend a great deal of time trying to get their substance and using it. With some substance though the DSM-V states a person may spend their whole day and all of their activities revolving the substance. A client who is struggling with substance abuse will most likely have some form of craving depending on the substance. Craving is an intense desire or urge for the drug that may occur at any time. The substance may cause the person to no fulfill their roles in life when it comes to work, school, or home. The individual may continue using despite their social or