Assessing Needs of Client with Alcohol and Other Drug Issues - Case Study Example

ASSESSING NEEDS OF CLIENT WITH ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUG ISSUES NAME INSTITUTION DATE How the client is likely to present for her initial assessment During the initial assessment, the client is likely to present herself in a state that displays her as having feelings of confusion, pain, rejection and failure due to the experiences that she could have gone through. In the initial presentation she also could be stressed up and her health status might be in a bad condition. The feelings of confusion will be as a result of not knowing what to do with the pregnancy i.e. if she should let her boyfriend know about it. Pain will most likely be as a result of the physical abuse that the boyfriend had subjected her to. Rejection will most likely be as a result of her feeling that her parents and siblings do not care about her and that’s why they are ever disapproving of her relationships and do not want anything to do with her. Failure will be as a result of her not being able to make her long-term relationship with the boyfriend work out for the good of herself the baby to be born and for the boyfriend, she could also be feeling as a failure due to the fact that she is a 29 year old woman who is not in a stable healthy relationship and who cannot be able to afford to pay her rent without relying on somebody else to chip in or to top up the needed amount. The feelings of stress will definitely be as a result of the failed relationship with her boyfriend, the physical abuse that she had been subjected to at the time she was with her boyfriend, her feeling that her siblings and parents have rejected her, the baby to be born and the heroin that she is not sure whether she will be able to give it up as a result of the pregnancy that she desires to keep. Main aims during the opening of the first session In opening the first session and building a relationship with Kathy, my main aims will be to build confidence with her as my client. Building up her confidence in me will enable her as my client to easily open up the issues that trouble her most and which she may be keeping to herself as secrets. Once she has opened up to me fully then I will be able to lay down the strategies that I will require to use in counseling to achieve the desired results and to be able to lay down a timeline for the counseling session. After building up her confidence, I will work on building rapport between me and her. Creating a friendly relationship with an emotional bond that is based on mutual liking, trust and a feeling that I do share in her concerns and troubles will help a lot in the counseling processes. She has to understand that I am in the same shoes that she is in if I’m to help her out of the problems she is experiencing. Creation of empathy will also be one of the main aims during the opening of the session and building of a relationship with Kathy. As a counselor, I will have to identify with her feelings and understand the difficulties that she is going through in order for me to be in a good position of offering her the help that she requires. Without the creation of empathy, it will be difficult to get along with her as all her experiences and feelings will seem to be quite a distance from me. During the opening session, as a counselor, I will have to ensure that I appear and sound genuine to her if she is to take me seriously and open her troubled mind to me. This will have to be done through matching my facial expressions and other gestures that I may be using during that session with what I say. I cannot be talking of pain when my face is all smiles; it will turn off the client and as a result will not be able to help her out. Regarding her positively in the opening session will set a firm base and build a strong bond of trust between me and the client. Criticizing her for using drugs will make her feel rejection from me and she will link it to what is going in her world. It will also turn her off and as a result, she won’t be able to get the help that she craves for. Using positive and encouraging words to Kathy will therefore be in one of my main aims in the opening session so that I can create a conducive environment for the entire lifetime of the counseling session. Problems likely to be identified in Kathy’s case In the case of Kathy, several problems are likely to be identified, some of the problems affect her alone and others do affect other parties like the unborn child. The problems include: Drug addiction-Kathy has been using heroin for quite a long time. She lived with a boyfriend who also was a drug addict. As a result of her addiction, she is not sure if she wants to quite the vice completely even though she is pregnant. Since she does not want to quite completely her drug life, she may end up causing complications to herself as she is pregnant or she may end up causing damage to the unborn child. The feelings of rejection that she is experiencing do also make up a big problem. She feels that the family does not want anything to do with her since it does not approve of any of her relationships. It is a problem that has to be resolved if she is to feel loved by the people who are supposed to care for her the most. Her finances could also be identified as a problem. Since she cannot be able to pay for the place that she currently lives and is already behind with her rent payment, a solution will have to be found for her so that she does not continue straining herself so much which may end up pulling her back to using more drugs as a result of stress. The boyfriend could be identified as a problem to her. He subjected her to physical abuse before they broke up. He also has a drug problem, and now that she is pregnant of his child, a solution has to be found to deal with him. For her to control her drug abuse habit, a way will have to be found to keep her away from the boyfriend who abuses the drugs on a daily basis. Her age could also be identified as a cause to some of her problems like stress. At 29, she could be feeling bad that she is not in a position to entirely support herself and the child to be born. She could be feeling bad that at that age she still has to rely on somebody to help her clear her rent. A solution has to be found that will make her accept her present situation and move on from there and try to create new opportunities for herself that will give her a new beginning in life. At the state she is in, her pregnancy is also a big problem to her. She uses drugs that can cause great harm to the fetus, she is not sure of whether to inform her boyfriend or not and definitely her parents and siblings are not aware of it. A way forward has to found, if she is to inform the boyfriend or if she is to keep it to herself since she is already broken up with him and has a drug problem. Order in which the problems are to be dealt with (in order of priority) The identified problems that affect Kathy have to be dealt with at a certain given order. They cannot all be solved at the same time. This is this main reason why a timeline for counseling sessions will have to be set during the initial assessment session. As Kathy’s counselor, I will first give priority to the problem of her feeling that she is being rejected especially by her family as she is convinced that they do not want anything to do with her. They could be the main roots of her being in the world of drugs. I will have to help her understand that there is more to live for than just harboring such negative thoughts in her mind. She will have to visit her family and try to discuss with them in order to get an understanding of whether they rejected her or they do still care for her as one of them. The next thing that I have to deal with is her drug problem. As a pregnant woman who intends to keep the pregnancy and bring forth life, she has to do away with drugs. I have to give her enough reasons why she should stop using heroin. The health of the baby is enough reason for her to stop using drugs. Once she gets a healthy baby then she will have enough reasons of getting over her feelings of rejection. The pregnancy will also help her to quit using heroin as she will have to either quit using them or end up losing the pregnancy or having a child who is deformed due to the effects of the heroin. After the drug issue, her age which is the root of her feeling like a failure for not being able to support herself entirely will have to be dealt with. I have to rebuild her self esteem as her counselor and give her the hope that she still can do better for herself and the baby through beginning to rebuild her life a fresh. She could get a stable job after cleaning herself entirely off the drugs and within a short time, she could be doing well by herself financially. The boyfriend will be the last problem to be dealt with. After Kathy’s confidence and self esteem has been built, after she has undergone all the stages of counseling within the set timeline and after the issues of drugs, finances and her family have been solved, I will have to help her make a decision on whether to inform the boyfriend of the pregnancy or not to inform him. She might inform him and the boyfriend who is on drugs might want her back again. And if she gets back to him during her present state of pregnancy, he might continues abusing her physically which will definitely be disastrous to her and the unborn child. Skills and strategies in assessing Kathy’s case In assessing Kathy’s needs and strengths, as a counselor, I will have to employ a few counseling skills. Unconditional positive regard is an essential skill in this case. Kathy has to be shown that she is accepted in the society. This has to be done through conveying words of encouragement to her. Being genuine is another skill that I can use in assessing the needs and strengths of Kathy. My body movements and other gestures have to go in line with my spoken word. She will get the required assurance that we both are sailing on the same boat and that I do understand what her problems are and I’m genuinely willing to help her out of them. In setting goals, as a counselor, I have to make use of the encouragement skill. I have to make Kathy understand that all is not lost, that she can begin again in a new way as a new person. Hope has to be instilled into her. Agencies that can be involved in Kathy’s case Since Kathy has a drug abuse problem and she is pregnant, I will recommend to her that she seeks the services of a rehabilitation centre. Rehabilitation centers have programs that are meant to help drug addicts to overcome their drug problems. Kathy can easily overcome her drug abuse problem through the help of a rehabilitation centre. The only care issue that relates to Kathy and her baby is the issue of drug use. For Kathy to have a healthy baby, she will have to stop using heroin and increase the consumption of food stuffs that will give the unborn baby the required nutrients. If Kathy’s boyfriend presents for counseling, the confidentiality that Kathy was assured of must be adhered to. For example, he mustn’t know that Kathy is pregnant if she decided not to tell him. He also will not get to know that she spoke of the physical abuse that he constantly subjects her to. PART B: REPORT When on session with Kathy, all the information that is gathered on the assessment form will have to be made available to her. Giving her the information will assist her in discovering her state of being before she is helped to discover her way forward. Kathy’s boyfriend will not be given any of the information that has bee collected from Kathy since they have already broken up. All the information given by Kathy will be treated with confidentiality unless she is willing to divulge it to a different party. The case management file will be filled after the initial assessment. By this time rapport could have been created and the client will be more than willing to divulge much of the information that is locked within herself. Her medical history will have to be part of the case management file and since she is on heroin, police records will have to be included in the file to give an insight of whether she had brushed herself with the law enforcement officers. Her previous counseling records will also have to be included in the case management file. It has to be known whether she benefited from any previous counseling sessions. In reviewing and measuring the value of intervention that Kathy has undergone through, the issues that were recorded on the assessment form will have to be reviewed first then the feelings that she has developed in the course of the counseling session will be taken into account. If the way she feels towards her family has changed positively and is willing to reconcile with them, then the processes will be considered a success. Any noticeable change of attitude will also count towards measuring the value of the intervention. If she accepts herself wholly and no longer views herself as a failure, then credit will be given to the intervention measures. In evaluating the effectiveness of other agencies that provided services to Kathy’s case, the outcome of the process that they put her through will be recorded first. The recommended rehabilitation center that she registers herself with must help her in dealing with her drug addiction issue. If she comes out and still keeps on using the heroin, then the centre will be considered to have failed in dealing with her case. If she comes out of the centre and does away with heroin completely, the center will be regarded as an effective agency in dealing with such issues. References Coombs, R. Addiction Counseling Review: Preparing for Comprehensive, Certification, and Licensing Examinations. Routledge 2004 Glidden-Tracey, C. Counseling and therapy with clients who abuse alcohol or other drugs: an integrative approach Counseling and Psychotherapy Series. Routledge, 2005 Okun Lewis. Woman abuse: facts replacing myths. Sunny Press, 1986 Perry W. Basic Counseling Techniques: A Beginning Therapist's Tool Kit. AuthorHouse, 2008 Thompson, R. Counseling techniques: improving relationships with others, ourselves, our families, and our environment. Psychology Press, 2003. Vacc, A. A conceptual framework for continuous assessment of clients. Measurement and Evaluation in Guidance, New York. 1982. Read More