Substance Abuse And Mental Disorders Social Work Essay

Substance Abuse And Mental Disorders Social Work Essay Dual diagnosis between drug abuse and mental illness is very common. The two problems affect and interact with each other. The number of people diagnosed with a mental illness and substance went from 210,000 to 800,000 between the years of 1998-2003. (Druss MD, Bornemann, Fry-Johnson MD, McCombs PhD, Politzer, Rust MD, 2006) Substance abuse is the most common and clinically important dual disorder among adults with severe mental illness. Studies show that fifty percent of people with mental illness also have a substance abuse problem. (Saisan, Smith, Segal, 2010) And more than half the persons with a substance abuse diagnosis also have a diagnosable mental illness. (Saisan, Smith, Segal, 2010) Clinicians believe that mental illness and substance abuse are biologically and physiologically based. Although substance abuse and mental health disorders like depression and anxiety are closely linked, one does not directly cause the other. (Saisan, Smith, Segal, 2010) Both conditions can mirror each. PROBLEM STATEMENT: More and more people are suffering from a combination of substance abuse and mental health problems. Alcohol and/or drugs are often used to relieve the symptoms of a mental illness, side effects from their medications or just to cure symptoms they are having at the time. Alcohol and drug abuse can increase original risk for mental disorders and can make symptoms of a mental health problem worse. Substance abuse and mental illness commonly co-occur due to genetic factors, environmental factors, a brain disorder and/or a development disorders. Co-occurring disorders, two disorders or illnesses occur simultaneously in the same person, they are called dual diagnosis or co morbidity. (Topics in Brief, 2007) Treatment for this dual diagnosis has not been well designed. Clients have to go a treatment facility for mental health treatment and a different facility for substance abuse treatment. This kind of treat is not successful because this leaves the client trying to cope/manger a disorder on their own. It is almost impossible for them to manger the other disorder because if they could quit on their own they would not need treatment. It can be hard to diagnose a person with a dual diagnosis of mental illness and substance abuse. One of the things that makes diagnose hard is denial by the patient. Substance abuse and mental disorders commonly co-occur because of overlapping genetic vulnerabilities, overlapping environmental triggers like stress, involvement of similar brain regions, and drug abuse and mental illness are developmental disorders. (Topics in Brief, 2007) Having a dual diagnosis put a person at greater risk for relapse. Violence and suicide attempts are also more prevalent among the dually diagnosed population. BACKGROUND: The problem of dual diagnosis became clinically clear in the early 1980s. (Drake R. P., 2001) Substance abuse and mental illness hinders your ability to function, handle life and have a healthy social life. Mental illnesses are mental conditions that disrupt a persons thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. The World Health Organization has reported that four of the 10 leading causes of disability in the US are mental disorders. (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2010) Some of the major and the most common mental illness that occur with substance abuse are manic depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, generalize anxiety disorder and antisocial personality disorder. It is reported that about 57.7 million Americans experience a mental health disorder in a given year. (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2010) Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not need to sustain life or to make it better. One in four US deaths can be attributed to alcohol, tobacco, or illicit drug use. (Innovatory Combating Substance Abuse, 2010) The commonly abused drugs by people with a mental illness are alcohol, cocaine and/or marijuana. Substance abuse complicates some aspect of care for a person with a mental disorder. It provides challenges for the counselor to engage the individual in treatment. About 50% of individuals with severe mental disorders are affected by substance abuse. (Saisan, Smith, Segal, 2010) Thirty-seven percent of alcohol abusers and 53% of drug abusers also have at least on serious mental illness. (Saisan, Smith, Segal, 2010) See the chart below. The risk of developing a drug abuse problem while having a disorder goes as high as 15.5% for antisocial personality disorder and as low as 02.1% for phobias. The mental health problems that most commonly co-occur with substance abuse are depression, anxiety disorders, and bipolar disorder. (Saisan, Smith, Segal, 2010) When a person has a dual diagnosis of substance abuse and mental illness the clinician has to determine what are the symptoms/signs of the substance abuse and what are the symptoms/signs are from the mental illness. Disorders with Increased Risk of Drug Abuse Disorder Risk Antisocial personality disorder 15.5% Manic episode 14.5% Schizophrenia 10.1% Panic disorder 04. 3% Major depressive episode 04.1% Obsessive-compulsive disorder 03.4% Phobias 02.1% Source: National Institute of Mental Health. (Drug Abuse and Mental Illness Fast Facts, 2006) At least 60% of people fighting substance abuse or mental illness are fighting both at the same time. (Bouchex, 2007) Patients with mood, anxiety or drug disorders are about twice as likely to be diagnosed with the other as well. Figure 1 (Topics in Brief, 2007) The prevalence of these dual diagnoses does not mean that one condition caused the other, even if one appeared first. The high rates show the need for better treatment and treatment centers able to deal with both at the same time. WORKING DIAGNOSIS: Substance abuse can cause mental disorders due to the fact that, drug abuse can cause a mental illness, mental illness can lead to drug abuse, drug abuse and mental disorders are both caused by other common risk factors all three can contribute to the establishment of specific dual diagnosis of mental disorders and addiction. (Topics in Brief, 2007) FRAMEWORK/METHOD OF ANALYSIS: I began my search using Google and searched using the terms Substance abuse and Mental Illness. This resulted in nine articles that were relevant to my topic all of which I used as references. I then went to the Pub Med Central database and searched using the term substance abuse and mental illness and found many articles. I used four of those articles as references. The other references were found on website such as National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Drug Intelligence Center. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (LITERATURE REVIEW): This review looks at progress made in understanding the relation between drug abuse and mental illness. Volkow found that the relationship between substance abuse and mental illness is likely to reflect common contributing factors and brain substrates. (Volkow, 2001) One of the main factors substance abuse and mental illness have in common is stress. A question that still remains is the role that drug abuse has on causing psychosis in individuals with no previous psychiatric histories. Stimulant drugs induce psychosis because they increase extracellular dopamine concentration in the brain. However it does not explain why psychosis can continue after the stimulant drug is no longer present in the brain. Regier, et al, broke his study down into specific mental disorders. This review found that of people with schizophrenia forty-seven percent has some form of substance abuse problem. People diagnosed with schizophrenia have a 4 times as likely then people who do not have schizophrenia to have a substance abuse problem. (Regier, et al., 1990) The odds for people diagnosed with anxiety disorders to have a substance abuse proplem were more than fourteen percent. It is believe that substance abuse may trigger mental illness in vulnerable individuals. Evidence show a complex explanation in which well-known risk factors- such as poor cognitive function, anxiety, deficient interpersonal skills, social isolation, poverty, and lack of structured activities combined to render people with mental illnesses particularly vulnerable to alcohol and drug abuse. (Drake, 2009) People that already have a mental disorder probably appear to be extremely sensitive to the effects of alcohol and other drugs, due to having a form of brain disorder. Drake, et al, explains the term dual diagnosis as misleading because people with a dual diagnosis are diverse and tend to have multiple illnesses rather than just two illnesses. Drake discusses how researchers have established some identical finding. First, co-occurrence is common. Second, dual diagnosis is associated with a variety of negative outcomes, including higher rates of relapse, hospitalization, violence, incarceration, homeless and serious infections such as HIV and hepatitis. (Drake R. P., 2001) Third, the mental health and substance abuse treatment system delivers fragmented and ineffective care. RESTATEMENT OF WORKING DIAGNOSIS (Hypothesis): There is evidence that substance abuse can lead to a mental disorder but also a mental disorder can also lead to a substance abuse, it is not known which comes first. Like the saying which comes first the chicken or the egg. It is said that having one of the diagnosis makes you vulnerable to the other. MANAGERIAL/POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS: Why people who are having a mental disorder are so prone to drug abuse raises a lot of questions due to the limited research done on the topic. The research so far is inconsistent and has failed to address a number of issues. There is a need for more research as well as more treatment center that are equipped to deal with dual diagnosis. The patient has two brain diseases that influence one another, and which both need treatment, at the same time. This is when dual diagnosis treatment is need. It is an approach used by clinicians to treat individuals affected by two co-occurring or coexisting conditions simultaneously. Dual diagnosis affects a person physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and socially. There is a need for an all-inclusive approach that identifies both disorders, evaluates both disorders, and at the same time treats both disorders. Many treatment centers now only treat one or the other. Substance abuse treatment are not recommended or designed to handle a ment al illness and vice versa. Awareness about the problem needs to be made public, so that people know the signs to look for and how to approach the person about their disorder correctly. Patients also need to be aware of the help that is available to them and support groups like Dual recovery Anonymous. There also needs to be better training for the counselors and physicians so that they will be able to better and accurately diagnosis patients. For recovery to be successful you must treats a clients addiction and mental health problem.

John Stuart Mill Essay

In the ethical simulation Aaron Web an employee in the IT department of the company we worked for wrote a blog about some confidential information within in our company. It is against company policy for employees to release confidential information about our company. In this company it is my duty not to reward employees who violate the code of conduct or break the law, to honor employees’ right to free expression even when they are critical of the company, and to ensure that privileged information about the company is not made public. After some investigation and an anonymous tip from another employee that hacked into Aaron’s home computer I decided that it would be best for our company to let Aaron go, because I felt that simply letting him off with a warning would not send a strong enough message to him and other employees about the seriousness of breaking company policy. Although Jamal Moore who I was told is a good employee and was diligent in investigating the situation to prove that our company network is not secure enough I thought it was best to let him go as well, because hacking into another employee’s personal computer is also against company policy and two wrongs do not make a right, nor did I think it would be ethical to fire one person for breaking company policy and not another. Personally I would have preferred to let Jamal off with a warning, because his supervisor did tell me that he is a good employee, and without the information he provided it would have been hard to catch Aaron, but to protect the company from a law suit I thought it was best to let him go as well. It was more important for me to think of what would be best for the company as a whole using Utilitarian ethics which focuses on the greater good for the greatest number of people in the company as well as Consequentialist Ethics which focuses on the consequences of a decision or action. I had to think about how other employee’s would react if this situation was taken lightly, as well as the reputation of our company. I didn’t want the situation to be taken lightly, because I wanted to send a message to any employee working for our company that it is not ok to break company policy for any reason, and I wanted our shareholders to feel that their investment is being protected at all costs. It does personally bother me that I had to make such a drastic decision that may negatively affect the lives of 2 people, but I felt the need to make that decision to make sure that something like this doesn’t happen again. At my job at the West Palm Beach Veteran’s Hospital my supervisor has a no nonsense approach to employees being late, because in the past she has seen that if one person gets away with it there is usually someone one else that might try it, and not only does it make the company look bad, but it effects productivity. Doing this ethics simulation showed me how hard it can be to make ethical decisions in the work place, because they don’t always agree with your personal ethical values. One personal experience where my personal ethical belief did not agree with the policy at my job is when a patient in a wheel chair had to be at another appointment within in the hospital, and needed assistance getting there so that he would not be late. As a medical support assistant it is my job to call aid and assistance to come pick the patient up to take him to is next appointment. It is against company policy to assist in moving a patient unless you are a part of the clinical staff. I know that the people that work in aid and assistant are usually late to pick patients up for their next appointment, and didn’t want te patient to be late, because in many cases when a patient is more than 15 minute their appointment is cancelled. I would have liked to help him get to his appointment, but I did not want disciplinary action taken against me if my supervisory discovered that I had left my desk without consent. Although I was not able to physically help the patient I was able to call the clinic where his next appointment was located and let them know that he might be running a little late. Although I felt it was not ethical for me to not be able to help the patient get to his next appointment I understood why it was company policy, and I followed the rules, but still found a way to help the best I could. I think that there are a lot of things we have to take into account when making ethical decisions, and doing the ethics simulation showed me how to evaluate situation in more depth to reach a decision that is best for everyone involved.

Get the Scoop on Toefl Essay Topics 2011 Before Youre Too Late

Get the Scoop on Toefl Essay Topics 2011 Before You're Too Late Enrolling into a college gives opportunity to fulfill new people from various regions, communities and perhaps even different nations. Students lead busy lives and frequently forget about a coming deadline. They sometimes worry about the point of view that they decide to take. Some people think that university students should be asked to attend classes. A descriptive essay is a kind of essay which aims at aiding you to illustrate something to your reader in a manner they can see, feel, or hear what it is that you are discussing. The reader should ultimately be in a position to observe the described image like they were looking at a painting or a photograph for the very first time. You have to express your principal idea in a very clear way in the coming of the essay. The speaking and writing sections are the sole ones which do not include things like multiple-choice questions. You may be asked to compose an essay about technology, education, media, loved ones, or another subject. One more thing you must concentrate on is your vocabulary. With the assistance of technology, life is easier today than before. The invention of the web has had negative results on your civilization. Toefl Essay Topics 2011 - Overview By this time, you understand how important it's to form a crystal clear and concise argument in your essay. The very first job of the essay examination is an integrated undertaking. It must be typed, so test-takers should be familiar with a computer keyboard. Like every assignment, a descriptive essay has a certain purpose. The following two sections will explain the format and requirements of every one of the writing tasks together with how they'll be scored. It's best if these essential words in your topic sentences aren't exactly the exact words utilized in your introduction. All you have to do now is to choose an example to support every one of your points. The Battle Over Toefl Essay Topics 2011 and How to Win It At this time you've got to be in a position to understand the differences between both topics you'll be presented with. Instead, you've got to think of your own subject from an enormous pool of possibilities. Discuss the benefits and disadvantages of this. Use certain reasons and examples to back up your selection. Below are the kinds of potential essay questions for the TOEFL iBT in addition to an illustration of each. All these methods will be able to help you create the tools that you require to be successful on the TOEFL iBT. These topics may show up on your actual TOEFL. In yo ur case, for instance, while you could possibly be completing many writing practice tests, if you've got no skilled feedback from a TOEFL mentor, you are not going to know whether you're improving. Your spelling also needs to be correct. You must also appear at the grammar and language. If you are in need of a high writing score, it may be a great idea to finish a TOEFL writing course. Knowing the most usual IELTS essay topics gives you the ability to center on the most essential vocabulary. The essays are broken up into two. At this time you must understand that writing a fantastic gre essay is dependent on the kind of topic you opt for, so it's necessary to consider certain things before you decide on a topic. You've got to compose an essay of at least 300 words on a particular topic. The examiners do not expect you to be a specialist on the essay topic, they simply would like you to show you can write clearly and persuasively in English. Learning these words before the exam for the most frequent essay topics ought to help you get a greater vocabulary score. You had better study this lesson if you aren't sure. In various other tests, you will be shown the gre essay topics to write about.

Colonial Governments of the Original 13 Colonies