Ice: Not Even Once - A Critical Reflection on a Drug Health Promotion Campaign

Running head: Ice: Not Even Once
Ice: Not Even Once
Name of the Student
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Author’s note

1Ice: Not Even Once
Introduction
When a patient is diagnosed with both a mental health issue and the substance abuse
disorder can be termed as a dual diagnosis. There are many mental health disorders that tend to
occur along with substance abuse such as the anxiety disorder, depressions, schizophrenia and
mood disorders (Medhus et al., 2013).
Metamphetamine or ICE is a drug that stimulates the central nervous system and lead to
several social, occupational and legal health consequences. Ice addiction in children is a major
problem and can exacerbate the mental health issues such as depression and anxiety (Ahmadi et
al., 2015). A co-occurring mental health disorder can even complicate the ability of the user to
get help for the drug addiction. In relation this, this paper would critically reflect upon a drug
health promotion campaign “Ice: not even once”, that was arranged against the widespread use
of the drug Ice.
Description
The traditional methods of treating patients with dual diagnosis is a parallel treatment
program. Where the patients were treated separately for the drug addiction and the mental health
problem from two different physicians. The campaign is to decrease the rampant use of the ICE
users among the adolescent group (AAIC,2013). The mass media campaign included television
advertisement, radio advertisements, billboard advertisements and social media saturation. The
campaign depicted the most dangerous outcome for the adolescents using ICE, involving both

2Ice: Not Even Once
the physical and the mental deterioration, crime, violence, prostitution and suicide. The Meth
campaign also provided knowledge to say “NO, NOT EVEN ONCE” (AAIC, 2013).
Overview of the literature
Normally there are two types of treatment for treating the drug addiction.
Pharmacological intervention and therapies. At present there are no medications that has been
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating Meth abuse. Most of the
treatment regimen begins with the medical detox where the drug is slowly weaned away from the
body and is done under the supervision of the registered professionals (Courtney & Ray, 2014).
Therapeutical approach includes cognitive behavioral therapy, the matrix model and the
contingency management intervention (Murthy & Chand,2012). Cognitive behavioral therapy
has been found to be effective in helping out the people to cope up with the life stressors that
trigger the use of the Meth. The Matrix model involves a program for 16 weeks of behavioral
treatment that includes behavioral therapy including family education, group counseling, and
support of the 12 step philosophy, drug testing and motivation for the non-drug related activities,
that works wonders for patients with dual diagnosis. People already suffering from depression
and may experience additional psychological effects from the Meth crystals, such as the
paranoia, schizophrenic behavior and severe anxiety. According to the National Center for
Complementary and Alternative Medicine, certain relaxation techniques has been found to be
helpful for the people suffering from dual diagnosis (Glasner-Edwards & Mooney, 2014). A
simple process of relaxation technique change the way how a body responds to the stresses of the
life. Breathing exercises, self-hypnosis and guided imagery can be helpful to manage the fight
and flight response of the body and the brain. Relaxation techniques in dual diagnosis can be