Starting a counseling agency for young adult prescription drug addiction

¶ … counselors seeking to start a new counseling agency of their own. The deliberations here are anchored on the observations of an experienced counselor. The aim is to deliver outcomes based on holistic remediation percepts, and an attempt to address most, if not all, issues involved in treatment of drug addicts.

OPENING A COUNSELING AGENCY

Type of Agency / Population and of Issues Specializing

Research studies have provided us with the latest definition of addiction. The research included 80 experts drawn from across the U.S. expanse. The American Society of Addiction led the efforts in this research. The society states that addiction is not only an issue with people's behavior regarding the use or abuse of substances, sex, or gambling. The society states that addiction is ideally a brain dysfunction. Addiction has also been defined as a behavior that occurs as a result of involvement in PA or substance use without regard to the negative effects such use has on the user's life or health (Shallcross, 2011). Following the recognition of this concern, through exposure, and treatment success to different types of problem addicts face, I am inclined to start my own counseling agency to deal with addiction problems.

Young adults between 18 and 25 years abuse prescription drugs largely. Statistics show that between 5.9 to 9% of these drugs have been used for non-medical use in the past month alone. Further, studies reveal that young people between the ages of 12 and 17 have abused 3% of these drugs in the past month. In a report presented by MTF 2010, young people in the 12th grade most frequently abused OTC and prescription drugs. Only alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana exceed this rate. Although the use tranquillizers and sedatives are reported to be on the decline by 12 graders in the past 5-year period, the picture of non-medical usage of opiod pain relief or amphetamines is distinctly different, and on the rise. There was an effort to establish how these young people accessed these prescription opiods. The report states that the young people revealed that they accessed such medication from either a relative or friend or both. It is interesting to note that very few of these young people accessed these drugs via the internet. It has been observed that young people who abuse medication are also likely to abuse drugs (Adolescents and young adults -- National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)). Many studies have demonstrated the relationship between the abuse of prescription drugs and cigarette smoking, heavy drinking, cocaine use, marijuana among other drug-abuse by adolescents, college students and other young adults in the U.S. Having considered these trends, I will target young adults between the ages of 18 and 25.

Code of Ethics

Delphi studies recommend the use of broad and open-ended questions in order to cast the research net wider. to begin with, those identified for participation were reached via email and requested to point out the most pertinent ethical issues confronting the counseling profession in modern day and to point out the emerging concerns they believe that counseling experts have to deal with and provide a solution in a span of five years from then. The broad question items were applied to capture as much information as possible on a wide range of issues. Those who took part in the survey were at liberty to add brief narratives to their responses that explained their views. They could also, simply name the issues they identified (Herlihy and Dufrene, 2011). The participants were requested to provide informed consent. They were also provided with instructions. The responses were sent back via email. The first round of the survey generated considerable data The responses varied from briefly listed issues by some respondents to detailed narratives. In order to prepare the data for the second round of research, we discriminated the data into current and future concerns. We further reduced the volume of data by creating themes in each of the categories. Similar responses were, thus merged into a single theme. For instance, there were four responses under the first category; how multiple categories can be managed as opposed to being avoided were merged. The other was understanding possible helpful beneficial relationships. This was placed under managing boundaries and multiple relationships (Herlihy and Dufrene, 2011). In the second group, named future concerns, there were three responses, i.e the duty to warn adolescents of issues- persons at risk of violence or suicide and students that were pursuing para-suicidal or suicidal tendencies was the framework for the theme of 'dealing with clients that pose danger to others or themselves. The ethics code that will find use in my practice will be a similar one to that of NAADC. These include the Ethical Standards Meant for Professionals and generated by Association For Addiction Professionals:

That a member of the above organization shall not discriminate clients based on religion, race, sexual orientation, ancestry or the condition of their economic status.

That all members shall be objective in their practice and espouse the highest level of professional practice

That each NAADAC member shall embrace pursuit of the good of society, the client, and the professionals in their delivery of service and ensure high competency levels. Further, such a member shall be in constant pursuit of further education as a requisite element for competence in the delivery of professional services.

Each member shall adhere to the legal guidelines that govern the practice

Members shall respect limits of the current knowledge in making public statements with regard to drug abuse and alcoholism.

Each member shall acknowledge everyone that has contributed in availing publications and the actual content of the publication.

That each member shall hold protection of public health and that of the client in high regard

Each member shall respect and protect the confidentiality of the information presented by clients and will not disclose such information in the course of their career and professional pursuits without the consent of the clients.

That all members shall endeavor to engage educational institutions, legal entities, legislative bodies, and other relevant authorities in the effort to facilitate availability of services related to alcohol and drug abuse problems.

6. Use matching practices for treatment

7. Develop a treatment program and extend the treatment period. There is supporting evidence from research that it is helpful to extend the treatment period for victims of drug and alcohol abuse; and there are usually better results when this such a treatment program is observed.

8. The offender should be bound by behavioral contracts

9. Assign special agents to supervise offenders in the treatment centers

10. Sanction those who do not comply

11. Reward those who exhibit compliant behavior.

12. The focus should be on quality rather than quantity.

In conclusion, Taxman says that there is a mutual relationship between effective criminal justice systems and effective treatment programs. I would like to adopt this model for my counseling services for the mentioned target groups.

Counseling Styles

Practitioners dealing with minority clients state that such clients respond better to directive counseling approaches. There is research that reaffirms this trend too (Yau, et.al, 1992).The studies involve rating of the trends by non-clients using audiotypes and video types in role played counseling sessions. In a study by Exum and Lau, Hong Kong students with personal issues were asked to rate two videos types that illustrated both directive and non-directive counseling sessions with some Chinese students. Most participants showed their inclination for directive counseling approach. Atkinso used a similar approach to expose Asian-Americans to role-playing directive and non-directive counseling sessions that were taped. This counseling facility will make use of CBT; which was developed in the 60s.It is commonly used in psychotherapy nowadays. Its ability to treat a wide range of mental disorders informs my decision to use it (Cox and D'Oyley, 2011).

The short treatment periods that CBT allows are another motivation for me to choose it. It can be applied to a wide range of clientele types. It is used in many professions. CBT presents a strong methodological foundation that allows for effective therapy delivery, even if the professionals are grounded in other field away from, psychology, counseling or psychiatry. The manuals used in CBT are available for group, individual and even self-help forms. The primary principles that direct CBT therapy state are that complex multiple relationships are reciprocal between thoughts, emotions and behavior; and that changing in any of the relationships will impact positively on the other pair. Patients are encouraged to adjusting their behavior by treating them as experiments (Cox and D'Oyley, 2011). They are asked to record the experiments in diaries or logs so as to follow up on behavior changes and identify the changes that are helpful. Patients can also recognize dysfunctional behavior patterns.

Help Employees with Their Talents

My practice will focus on such aspects as focusing on employee talents. Any effective professional practice requires consistency. It would be helpful to under-state delivery and strive to deliver beyond the promise. Equal treatment of clients is fundamental- irrespective of how hard that may be (Jordan, 2009). There is need to lead practically because clients look up to the counselor expert for guidance. Always adopt professional behavior and avoid taking advantage of your status to influence people. Focus on the best interest of clients and be the expert the youth expect you to be when dealing with them.

"References"

Cox, & D'Oyley. (2011). Cognitive-behavioral therapy with older adults. BC Medical Journal, 53(7), 348-352. Retrieved June 15, 2016 from http://www.bcmj.org/articles/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-older-adults

Herlihy, B., & Dufrene, R. (2011). Current and Emerging Ethical Issues in Counseling: A Delphi Study of Expert Opinions. Counseling and Values, 56. Retrieved, from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.lib.kaplan.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e47478a0-2883-4fe2-bc81-6d2153e6528f%40sessionmgr4005&vid=3&hid=4110

Jordan, L. (2009). Articlesbase - Fun & Engaging Content. 8 Principles for Effectively Maintaining Professional Boundaries as a Service Provider. Retrieved June 15, 2016, from http://www.articlesbase.com/human-resources-articles/8-principles-for-effectively-maintaining-professional-boundaries-as-a-service-provider-1293358.html

Mass.Gov. (n.d.). Ethical Standards for counselors by the NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals. Retrieved June 14, 2016, from http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/substance-abuse/adcounselor-ethical-std.pdf

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). (n.d.). Adolescents and young adults -- National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Retrieved June 14, 2016, from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/prescription-drugs/trends-in-prescription-drug-abuse/adolescents-young-adults

Pearce, & Holbrook. (2002). University of Hawaii System. RESEARCH FINDINGS AND BEST PRACTICES IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT FOR OFFENDERS A Review of the Literature. Retrieved June 15, 2016, from http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/USA/N_Carolina/DOC/NC_DOC_Substanc

Shallcross. (2011). Don't turn away. Counseling Today, 53(12), 30-38.

Yau, Sue, & Hayden. (1992). Counseling Style Preference of International Students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 39(1), 100-104. Retrieved June 15, 2016, from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.lib.kaplan.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=3c84de13-53c3-43b4-a5a1-414991966c60%40sessionmgr105&vid=4&hid=112