¶ … 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...
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.
Best Practices
CBT (
Cognitive behavior therapy ), as it is commonly referred to, has been found to be effective among prisoners. Cognitive behavior therapy is anchored on
social learning theory. It emphasizes that drug abuse is a learned phenomenon, and a maladaptive pattern of behavior that can be altered by
training and inculcating the desired skills. The counselor embarks on a coaching process by presenting didactic information with an aim of helping addocts to acquire fresh skills. The approach is normally a short-term and intensive group counseling approach. It usually lasts less than 3 months. Those who take part in the sessions work with their groups to acquire different and better though-out approaches of behavior that minimize drug and alcohol dependence (Pearce and Holbrookm 2002).
Many of the CBT programs need participants to take part in AA or NA programs as a subsidiary treatment technique. The program constitutes instruction,
homework, and practice in the group. The programs are instructional and directive. It is often offered as part of a therapeutic procedure in the community or even the 12 steps program. One of the types of CBT is the MRT (the Moral Recognition Therapy). This approach is anchored on
moral reasoning and development of the participant. Moral Recognition therapy is supported by evidence of its effectiveness in such locations as the
Washington State. It is reported to have significantly reduced recidivism in this state. Taxman uses the results of a study that cross-examined results from a study conducted in 12 jurisdictions in the main drug trafficking location, and recommends 12 principles for effective treatment systems, supervision, and community services. The principles include (Pearce and Holbrook, 2002):
1. The main goal for the
criminal justice system and treatment programs should be reduction of recidivism
2. The features of treatment and the criminal justice system should be driven by policy
3. The criminal justice systems and treatment facilities must work in sync
4. Implement drug testing
5. Aim at treating offenders in cases where treatment can be effective.
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…
