Social and Cultural Effects of Alcoholism

Verified

Added on  2020/02/24

|9
|2732
|75
AI Summary
This assignment delves into the multifaceted effects of alcoholism, encompassing its social and cultural implications. It further analyzes the ethical dilemmas and legal considerations surrounding the treatment of alcohol addiction. The document aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complexities associated with alcoholism and its impact on individuals and society.
tabler-icon-diamond-filled.svg

Contribute Materials

Your contribution can guide someone’s learning journey. Share your documents today.
Document Page
Assignment title:
Student name:
Subject code:
Registration number:
Date due:
tabler-icon-diamond-filled.svg

Secure Best Marks with AI Grader

Need help grading? Try our AI Grader for instant feedback on your assignments.
Document Page
Introduction
This paper outlines and clearly explains the intervention plan to be used to help out
Gemma with her alcoholism problem. The paper is a systematic explanation of the
steps and actions to be taken in order to understand Gemmas problem and the way to
deal with each and every problem.
The intervention plan is prepared based on the research conducted in assessment task
one. The treatment plan begins with analyzing the state of mind of the patient. The
treatment plan is a combination of psychological therapy and medical treatment. This
is followed by an outline of an outstanding harm reduction plan to gradually help
Gemma overcome the struggles she is undergoing. The demonstration of relapse
prevention methods will be used to help the patient. Relapse prevention techniques
are the actions and procedures that will be undertaken to ensure that the patient does
not fall back to the addiction behavior. Gemma will be encouraged to acquire new
friends and keep herself busy with other stuff in order to prevent her from going back
to the drinking habit. The ethical issues such as maintaining a professional
relationship with the patient are discussed at length. The legal issues that are
important in the practice such as ensuring that the treatment does not put the life of
the patient in danger and the rights of the patient are not violated. Social cultural
issues arising as a result of alcoholism are also discussed in detail.
Assessment of Gemma`s readiness for change
From the analysis of the previous assessment, it is quite clear that the various causes
of alcoholism for Gemma have been determined and clearly outlined. The preparation
of the treatment plan is made using the first assessment as the guide. The first step in
the treatment plan is determining the extent to which Gemma is prepared for change.
It is important to convince Gemma of the importance of solving the alcoholism
condition that she is facing and be determined to get professional help. This will be
done by asking Gemma questions such as:
Do you think that you alcoholism is affecting your life negatively?
Document Page
Do you believe you can get help with the alcoholism problem and do you believe you
can completely kick away the drinking habit?
The answers from these questions will help in identifying the approach to be used to
assist Gemma. If Gemma is not ready for treatment we need to conduct therapy
sections to help convince the patient on the significance of this exercise.
Gathering of an intervention team
An intervention team is important in planning and helping to implement the treatment
plan. The intervention team for Gemma will be composed of the following people:
Gemma who is the patient,her father and her mother as well as other family members
willing to participate. The team will also be composed of Gemmas` close friends. 3
reformed addicts will also be recruited in order to give speeches to Gemma and
demonstrate the effects of alcoholism and show her how they were able to overcome
addiction. Each member of the team will speak during the sections in order to give
their personal experiences with alcoholism.
Objective of the intervention
The objective of this intervention plan is to help Gemma abstain from using alcohol
completely. This will be a process the objective is expected to be achieved within 6
months.
Role of family members in the treatment process
It is also crucially important to involve family members in this process. Close family
members such as her father, mother, or brothers will be involved in designing a
treatment plan since they are important part of the student’s life. The family members
will be informed of the importance of the treatment process. The family members will
be informed of the role they are expected to perform in helping Gemma. The first and
most important step is ensuring that Gemma`s father deals with his alcohol problem
so as to reduce the stress that Gemma is experiencing due to his fathers` drinking
problem. Since this was determined as one of the core influences of Gemmas`
drinking problem, it is important to ensure that her father’s drinking habits do not
affect her directly. This will be easily solved by helping her father to stop drinking.
Her father will be informed on how the drinking habits have negatively influenced her
Document Page
daughter and therefore it is crucial that he stops the habit. Two sections will be
organized every week to counsel the father on matters to do with alcoholism and this
will have a major positive impact on Gemma. The family members will also be
advised on how they should interact with Gemma and the things they will do to help
her reform quickly. By adapting to this, the drinking problem as a result of trauma
from family members will be reduced.
Behavioral treatment for Gemma
Behavioral treatment is a method used to treat alcoholism among addicts. This is done
by influencing the behavior of individual to shape them according to a particular
direction (Bhatia,Petty& Gabel, 2017). Counseling sections will be organized every
week to convince Gemma on the importance of behavior change. Gemma will be
introduced to new mentors who will share with her in order to influence positive
behavior change. The hobbies of Gemma and her occupation will be considered when
choosing the people to act as mentors for Gemma (Fisher & Roget, 2009.This method
will work since Gemma will tend to observe the actions and behavior of her mentors
and she will adopt the positive aspects with time.
Mutual support groups
Mutual support groups are groups of people with a shared objective who meet
regularly to offer one another support in order to overcome the problem at hand(First
& Tasman,2011). This is important since it will offer Gemma firsthand experience
with people who have gone through the treatment process and were alcoholics before.
Two groups will be identified where Gemma can spend at least three hours in a week.
Gemma will be able to identify the problems that the alcoholics have undergone and
why it is crucial for her to get treatment.
Solving the problem in regard to peer pressure influencing Gemmas alcoholism
From the findings of the assessment, it is evident that peer pressure is a major force
influencing Gemma to excessive habitual drinking. It is therefore important to address
this issue in the treatment plan. Peer pressure results from Gemma having a large
number of friends who are into drinking. It is very difficult to quit drinking if the
people one spends most of their time with are into the habit (Saunders & Rey, 2011).
The friends and other people around Gemma such as her classmates may have
tabler-icon-diamond-filled.svg

Secure Best Marks with AI Grader

Need help grading? Try our AI Grader for instant feedback on your assignments.
Document Page
influenced the girl into drinking. Her classmates bullied her about issues such as her
family background and these issues took a toll on Gemma. With time, Gemma
resulted to drinking as a solution to help her momentarily forget the problems she was
facing at home. In this context therefore, Gemma will need to avoid bad company.
This will be achieved by her dumping her old friends who had a bad influence on her
(Jergensen, Pedersen &Tennesen,2011) This will be difficult but is achievable with
time. Gemma will be advised on the importance of choosing good friends and she will
be exposed to an environment where she can make new friends.
How to deal with pressure emanating from her studies
Gemma is also seen to have a lot of pressure to perform in class. The over anxiety has
led to stress on the patient and this was part of the reason why she started
drinking.Gemma is seen to have issues in clearing her home work and even
concentrating in class. The student counsel and the schools` counseling professionals
will be crucial in helping to deal with this problem. They will be made aware of
Gemma`s problem and they will play a role in helping the student. the members of the
students body will hold talks with Gemma to advise her on how they manage their
studies.
Medical intervention for Gemma
Medication is very important in helping treat alcoholism. They are very effective
when used together with psychosocial modalities. They work by helping to reduce the
patients desire to drink. Medicines such as Antabuse, Naltrexone and campral
(Institute of Medicine U.S. (2012). This together with psychological and behavioral
change techniques will be important in treating Gemma.
Relapse prevention plan
This process involves a series of stages which need to be followed to the letter. It is
important to have a relapse prevention plan in order to ensure that Gemma does not
slide back to her drinking habits. The following are the stages of relapse and the
techniques of preventing each one of them.
Emotional relapse: this is where the motions and behavior of an individual may
influence them to start drinking again. They include anxiety, mood swings and anger
Document Page
(Acton, 2012). It is important for the patient to realize they are in emotional relapse so
that they can change behavior. This can also be prevented by making sure that
Gemma is surrounded by people who make her happy and help her avoid stress.
Mental relapse is the next stage of relapse. This will be prevented by advising Gemma
to always keep herself occupied and find hobbies that will fulfill the satisfaction they
felt after drinking (Edmond, Aletraris,Paino & Roman, 2015). Gemma should also
have very close friends who will keep reminding her of the dangers of drinking again.
Physical relapse is the last stage of relapse and is difficult to stop at this point. At this
stage, the patient finds themselves in the liquor stores or back to the friends who
influenced the drinking habit in the first place (Ensey,2014)
Social/cultural effects of alcoholism
Alcoholism has very many social cultural effects. One of the effects of alcoholism is
that it results to breakup of families. Families break up in cases where either parents
are drinking or even the children are drinking. It brings about dis-agreements which
bring about fighting and eventually marriages may break up (Bhatia, Petty & Gabel,
2017). Alcoholism has an effect on the morals of the patient. The bad morals resulting
from alcoholism may influence children and they may adopt this negative behavior
over time. In addition to this, alcoholism has brought about many cases of sexual
assault especially among young college students. The victim may end up in hospital
and the other person ends up in jail. Alcoholism also affects the family members
psychologically and hence affecting their social life`s.
Ethical and legal issues in the practice
There are a variety of legal and ethical issues related to the treatment and prevention
of substance abuse. These issues include:
Confidentiality; Studies carried out in the past indicate that lack of confidentiality
discourages individuals from seeking treatment for alcohol disorder. This resulted to
the formulation of an act to protect confidentiality of a client.
Duty of care: The practitioner or the doctor has a duty of care towards the patient. The
doctor is expected to take all the necessary actions in the interest of helping the client.
Alcohol treatment programs have policies that guide against continuing to work with
patient who have continually experienced relapse (Riley, 2011).
Document Page
Another important ethical issue in this profession is that ethical psychologists should
have supporting data for factual statements made. This is aimed at improving patients
access to information.
Another ethical issue in this profession is that of respect for differences in culture and
world views. This provides that professionals in this field should respect the cultural
values and practices of their clients while taking them through treatment. Clients self
determination is also very important in this context (Fisher & Roget, 2009).
Conclusion
The treatment plan has provided a clear and concise path to be followed for successful
treatment of Gemma. The plan begins with understanding of Gemmas views and
attitude towards the treatment she is about to undergo. The plan also identifies the
people to be involved in the treatment plan of Gemma. The role of family members in
treatment of Gemma is identified. Each of the issues identified in the previous
assessment are addressed in detail with a solution for each of identified issues.
Medication for Gemma is prescribed and the behavioral change plan is also outlined.
The final parts of the report are an evaluation of the social cultural effects of
alcoholism as well as the ethical and legal issues in the practice of treating
alcoholism.
tabler-icon-diamond-filled.svg

Paraphrase This Document

Need a fresh take? Get an instant paraphrase of this document with our AI Paraphraser
Document Page
References
Bhatia, S. C., Petty, F., & Gabel, T. (2017). Substance and Non Substance Related
Addiction Disorders. Sharjah: Bentham Science Publishers.
Cain, G. E. (2015). Factors that influence treatment utilization for alcohol use
disorders among African Americans.
Ensey, A. G., ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (Electronic resource collection), &
University of Texas at Arlington. (2014). PTSD, alcohol use disorder, and treatment:
A review.
Edmond, M., Aletraris, L., Paino, M., & Roman, P. (2015). Treatment strategy
profiles in substance use disorder treatment programs: A latent class analysis. Drug
And Alcohol Dependence, 153, 109-115.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.05.047
First, M. B., & Tasman, A. (2011). Clinical Guide to the Diagnosis and Treatment of
Mental Disorders. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Fisher, G. L., & Roget, N. A. (2009). Encyclopedia of substance abuse prevention,
treatment, & recovery. Los Angeles: SAGE.
In Acton, Q. A. (2012). Alcohol-related disorders: Advances in research and
treatment : scholarly paper.
Institute of Medicine (U.S.). (2012). Treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder in
military and veteran populations: Initial assessment.
Document Page
J rgensen, C., Pedersen, B., & T nnesen, H. (2011). The Efficacy of Disulfiram for
the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder. Alcoholism: Clinical And Experimental
Research, 35(10), 1749-1758. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2011.01523.x
Lee, K. (2012). Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder. Journal Of Korean Diabetes,
13(2), 85. http://dx.doi.org/10.4093/jkd.2012.13.2.85
Mason, B. (2017). A human laboratory study of mifepristone as a novel treatment for
alcohol use disorder. Alcohol, 60, 224.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.alcohol.2017.02.274
National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (Great Britain), & National Institute
for Health and Clinical Excellence (Great Britain). (2011). Alcohol-use disorders:
Diagnosis, assessment and management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence.
London: British Psychological Society/Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Saunders, J., & Rey, J. (2011). Young People and Alcohol: Impact, Policy,
Prevention, Treatment. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Riley, E. (2011). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. [Weinheim]: Wiley-Blackwell.
chevron_up_icon
1 out of 9
circle_padding
hide_on_mobile
zoom_out_icon
[object Object]

Your All-in-One AI-Powered Toolkit for Academic Success.

Available 24*7 on WhatsApp / Email

[object Object]