Addiction Therapy

Week 12 Assignment 1: Group Facilitated Discussion – Addiction Therapy
David Stewart and Nedra D. Allen-Jones

The focus of this discussion is the study of addiction. This is a common and debilitating illness. It affects all ages, cultures, social-economic levels, and geographical areas. The consequences of addiction are emotionally, socially, and economically devastating. There is a large body of research, along with significant ongoing efforts on local, state, and national levels to further addiction education, prevention, and treatment. We examine the neurobiology of addiction, as well as therapies to treat addiction.

• Please review the Power Point presentation and attached resources to answer the discussion questions in a well-developed three pages paper.
• Use five references within 5 years.

Neurobiology of addiction information:

https://www.brainfacts.org/archives/2011/dopamine-and-addiction

Motivational Interviewing resources and demonstration:
https://motivationalinterviewing.org

Additional Resources:
https://www.naadac.org/assets/2416/2015-01-29_managing_the_medusa_webinarslides.pdf
http://njms.rutgers.edu/departments/psychiatry/documents/Lecture1-NeurobiologyofAddiction-Slides.pdf

Case Study:
Suzanne has come to the “drop-in” counseling clinic where you work to get some information and advice. Suzanne is a 22-year-old single woman who has been living with her boyfriend Jack in Manhattan’s lower east side for the last four years. When Suzanne was 10 years old, her father, whom she says was a very heavy drinker, left her mom and the kids and never came back. At 14 she started drinking and smoking marijuana. At 16, she dropped out of high school and at 18 she moved in with Jack. He introduced her to heroin. She reports using about a ½ gram of heroin a day to be able to function. She “works the streets” at night to pay rent and support her and Jack’s habit. Before going to work, she drinks four to five beers and takes Klonopine or Valium to “tied me over”.
Suzanne is concerned that she is pregnant because she has not had a menstrual cycle in four months, and she has been vomiting every morning. She has come to the clinic because she is really confused and wants advice on what on what decisions to make. Her friend who works with her at night told her not to stop using dope if she is pregnant “because it is worse of the baby if you stop using dope”.

Please answer the following questions:
1. Describe the neurobiology of addiction.
2. Physiologically speaking, which substance(s) present the largest risks for withdrawal?
3. What are your treatment priorities in this case?
4. What treatment options would you consider/offer?
5. Do you see any transference or counter-transference issues that could affect your judgment in handling the case?