Relapse

Patti Smith-Emery Relapse Prevention Chris Swift Monday class Final Exam Introduction I will call my client Dayna (38) who is in this treatment facility for a second time. However this will be the first time I have had Dayna as a client. Dayna is a late stage drug user, whose main drug of choice is methamphetamine. Her first time in treatment was a short-term 30-day court ordered program. Unfortunately at the time, Dayna who is no first timer in the system wasn’t ready for help. This time she came in on a voluntary basis after she completely hit rock bottom according to records obtained. My client’s history with law enforcement and County Agencies is quite extensive. My first meeting with Dayna is set for this morning to write my assessment. During this time it will be a one on one meeting to determine why she feels this time in treatment will work. Paper and pencil is an important tool for the first meeting, because I feel some clients may not trust the counselor, and will give you what they think you want hope to hear. They will have the opportunity after they leave this first session to write down what brought them here and what do they expect out of treatment. It will be in a sense the beginning of their journey to recovery. The first few weeks sometimes can be a test of irritability and frazzled nerves, confusion and denial. However, with the right tools some as simple as pen and paper, can help change Page 2 Patti Smith-Emery the final outcome. It allows us to put down our thoughts as we have them and to not hold back. My client is one who can write every thought easier than she can speak up in-group. It is a comfort to her in a way, because she will not be judged by anyone, or has to please anyone; she can concentrate on fixing herself. The first week of treatment is a week devoted to one on ones and group meetings. Alliances will be made and trust along with respect for themselves and others, sets the groundwork for a hope and a new beginning. 30-Day Progress Report Dayna has reached the end of her first 30 days in treatment. It has been a very emotional road for her. She began to have a break through after one group session where I sat back as an observer with the intern and let the group of six talk. I do this to see if I can observe among the group those that may be holding back and are comfortable talking to their peers. One person begins and usually it doesn’t take long before people are opening up. Susan’s breakthrough came when she realized that she is not alone, and it wasn’t to late. Most of the group’s participants have had similar stories with varying degrees of endings. However Susan explained to me, this time was different for some reason. All she knew is that there is light at the end of the tunnel, but she had to obtain that goal by herself with guidance from this facility and myself. I have recently added to my client’s progress a personal recovery plan that she will have. It is a pretty basic report that will not cause my clients to over think Page 3 Smith-Emery as it centers on short and long term goals of which they have the control. The short term is what their immediate goals are such as, food, and clothing, housing and earning income for example. Long term are for example returning to School for a better education to further their employment, buying a car, or even starting life in a new town. All these goals can be obtained, some may take longer than others, but to my client she is eager to obtain these goals and they choose their own direction on the road to recovery. Throughout her treatment Dayna has also been keeping a journal of her thoughts during the transition. After she leaves in 60 days she will have her journal to help her on her path. The recovery plan will also help her to understand her road to recovery and what to achieve. 90-Day Progress Report During the last two weeks of treatment, I will work with my client on an aftercare program designed by this facility, which is a basic form of dos and don’ts, referrals and local help. I have also added a page, which is directed strictly for the specific needs of my clients. Because each clients needs are different. Assessments of a client are crucial throughout their treatment. Family therapy is a definite part of recovery. A lot can be accomplished in the healing process between the addict and family if the addict feels they have support. Though families can be a major part of the addict’s recovery, it can also heal family as well if they are open to it. Page 4 Patti Smith-Emery However all of this will be of no importance if the addict feels as if they have no one to support him or her once they leave treatment and possibilities of relapsing are pretty high. To succeed with the tools given to them they need hope, respect, family and peer support. They also have learned during treatment what may trigger the urge to relapse and with the aftercare program I will incorporate a sponsor who they can relate to because it is crucial in not letting to much time get between the treatment ending and aftercare beginning. I have a list of some important tools that I feel are crucial to my client’s recovery. I am hoping that as part of the client’s aftercare, they can comeback and volunteer for a minimum of 10 hours a week and help with the recovery of those that followed. This will help build their confidence level and feel like they have a purpose. Aftercare Tools After leaving treatment I have recommended that my client go to a halfway house that will provide shelter, and help strengthen her ability to stay on the right path. The house will offer group meetings that are mandatory and helps keep the momentum going. Also Dayna will be volunteering 3 days a week in this facility to help addicts as they begin their journey. I think this will benefit Dayna knowing she is important and is making a difference. Because she already knows what to expect by sponsoring an individual who may need guidance from one who has been down the path. This particular house offers family nights, which allows the Page 5 Smith-Emery residents of the house to spend time with their families. Daynas’ family has agreed to attend the meetings to show support and address some issues that may be hidden that could hinder the addict’s recovery process. This is very important to her recovery, because most of her problems seemed to be around the dysfunctional family that had addiction problems, which she felt, left her emotionally broken and vulnerable. During these family sessions I want to observe how the therapist uses strategy to help families learn to retrain their behavior, which may be pretty negative at best because of the family dynamics. In my opinion it is always a good idea to make contact with the family prior to the therapy session, to get a feel who may be a little more difficult or more open to what lies ahead. There are so many types of therapy geared towards rebuilding the family of an addict. According to Tip 39 goals of therapy are (to identify and address family problems including substance abuse by one or more family members). Tip gives you the guidelines and I feel it is up to us to use them, however, every person is different every situation is different and with some added fine tuning the end result is the same Sobriety, and the will to change. As a counselor it is what I trained for and what keeps me going, though not everyone will make it, many will relapse, many will continue with a sober lifestyle and succeed. I hope I make a difference, because that is the reason I want to be a Counselor. I want to make sure that to the best of my ability I provide the proper care for the individual that are within the WAC guidelines with suggestions along the way. Rules are rules, however we do need to tweek them every once in a while! Reference: Samsha 10 Fundamentals of Recovery Samhsa Tip 39 Substance Abuse and Family Therapy Team Solutions Workbook 10 Recovery in Process: Putting it all together