Substance Abuse and Professional Counseling

Running head: SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING

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SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING
SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING
Name of student:
Name of university:
Author note:

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SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING
Program for consultation with school staff and/or parents, industry/agency personnel to
implement primary prevention principles designed to address substance abuse.
Description of the goals you would have for your intervention and the procedures you
would use, along with a rationale and a description of how you would evaluate your
intervention, using action research procedures
Overview of the problem of substance abuse: Establishing the context
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), substance abuse has been
described as the exposure to hazardous and harmful psychoactive substances that may include
illicit usage of drugs or alcohol. These psychoactive components in the substance can lead to
dependence syndrome and a cluster of cognitive, behavioral and physiological phenomena
that develops after the continuous use of drugs. This is characterized by a deep desire to
consume the drug, finding it difficult to control the drug and continuing the use of these
psychoactive substances despite of being aware of the harmful consequences (Foxx, Baker &
Gerler, 2017). It can further lead to a state of physical withdrawal and rendering highest
priority to drug usage instead of other activities. Although 1 in 3 people are found to have
issues with substance abuse like drug and alcohol, more than 90 per cent of the victims of
substance abuse do not fit the media stereotype of people with issues of substance abuse. It
has been found that one in five household in Australia face alcohol abuse and one in five 16
and 17 year old are exposed to binge drinking in a given week. More than 500, 000 children
are living at the risk of exposure to adult drinking that has led to harmful effects for the
generation (Corey, 2017). The statistics on cannabis is even more disturbing as it has been
found that one in seven secondary school students are found to be using drugs. The problem
has escalated to its crux and become a social epidemic considering that the massive level of
drinking and drug abuse by the Australian population. It has been normalized and considered
as rite of passage to adulthood thereby encouraging the younger generation to become a slave