Assessment and Intervention in Addiction: A Case Study from University

This report presents an assessment and intervention plan for a 19-year-old university student, Gemma, struggling with alcohol addiction. The case study analyzes various domains of assessment, including family relations, peer pressure, mental health, and the impact of past trauma. It explores the role of family in the intervention process, the influence of peer pressure on substance abuse, and the importance of addressing the support user's mental health. The report also discusses potential medical interventions and the use of information to analyze the problem situation. The report emphasizes the need for a holistic approach, including counseling, support groups, and medical assistance, to address the complex factors contributing to addiction and promote recovery. The assignment highlights the importance of considering individual circumstances and providing tailored support to those struggling with addiction.

Running head: ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION IN ADDICTION
Assessment and intervention in addiction
Name of the student
University name
Author’s note

1ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION IN ADDICTION
Table of contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................2
Case background...........................................................................................................................2
Domains of assessment................................................................................................................2
Role played by family in assessment of addiction.........................................................................3
Effect of peer pressure..................................................................................................................4
Mental health of the support user..................................................................................................4
Effect of trauma on drinking...........................................................................................................5
Possibilities of medical intervention...............................................................................................6
Using the information to analyse the problem situation.................................................................7
References....................................................................................................................................8

2ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION IN ADDICTION
Introduction
The current decade has seen an increasing mental stress arising out of peer pressure
and lifestyle changes in an individual. The current assignment focuses upon the ill health effects
and perils associated with the development of addictive behaviours in a youth. The study here
focuses upon the diverse impact produced by alcohol on the body and mind of an individual.
The assignment further analyses the different domains, which can be used for gathering
sufficient information regarding the support user. The domains have been further elaborated to
develop into useful questions, which can be used during the referral. The collective information
can be used for proper analysis of the problem situation.
Case background
Gemma is a 19-year-old AUT student and enjoys her life fully with her friends from
college. However, recently her careless and party freak attitude has taken over her studies. This
has resulted in Gemma getting behind in her studies. Gemma had also resorted to drinking to
cope up with assignment deadlines and the pressure to cope her well in her exams. However,
Gemma’s mother has come to discover about this drinking problem of Gemma. Additionally, she
fears that this tendency to drink might attribute to a strong genetic disposition. This is because
Gemma’s father was also an alcoholic.
Domains of assessment
The assessment and intervention for drug addiction can be measured through a variety of
factors such as:
 Family relations
 Peer pressure
 Mental health
 Past history of trauma
 Medical interventions

3ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION IN ADDICTION
Role played by family in assessment of addiction
Substance abuse and alcoholism is a common peril affecting the current decade. The
problem is drastically pertinent in the youth group owing to the huge amount of social and peer
pressure that they might be subjected to. However, the role of family is immense in the
intervention and treatment of alcohol abuse (Caetano, 2017). The organization of the family as
well as the specific structure of the family plays a crucial role in the mental and emotional well
being of the children. The disruption in normal elements of the family may subject a child to
additional mental and emotional stress (Sibley, 2014) . Therefore, the counselling agency or the
care personnel need to ensure that the family of Gemma is actively involved in the care and
treatment plan.
Children of alcoholics possess a greater risk of being exposed to a range of
psychosocial and emotional problems. They are at a greater risk of carrying mental illnesses
such as depression into their families. The probability of alcoholism to be present within the next
generation is 37% in case of alcoholic parents (Studer, 2014). Reports and evidence have
suggested that emotional anxieties, confusion and distress regarding personal role identities are
some of the symptoms expressed by an alcoholic. The student services have found Gemma to
be coping with the stress of finishing her assignment within deadlines along with the pressure of
exams. Thus, unable to cope up with the additional stress Gemma took to drinking. However, in
this respect, her father who was also an alcoholic might lay down the example to her.
The presence of an alcoholic culture in the family might have triggered Gemma resort
such means of stress relief. The inculcation of the family members of an alcoholic in the
treatment plan might act as an additional level of security (Georgie, 2016). The student services
might also propose a visit to a psychologist by Gemma and her family. This could help in
providing the family with an additional amount of emotional care and support needed. In order to
gather sufficient and collective information from Gemma, the following questions could be asked
to her such as:
“How would you define your relationship with your family members?...Who is the one closest to
you?..........How do you think they affect your thinking and attitude towards life?......Do you think
your father is right to profess to alcohols most of the time.....Why or why not? ”

4ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION IN ADDICTION
Effect of peer pressure
Peer pressure can have a profound effect on the lifestyle options and individual habit of
the teenagers. The submission of alcohol or other forms of substance misuse such as drugs is
often triggered by social and emotional peer pressure. The disposition to drinking is often
developed in an individual out of sheer a competitive spirit. In this respect, the goal is to outdo
some of the other friends in the group, which soon becomes a trend (Leung, 2014). The genetic
factors also play a crucial role in determining the pattern of individual behaviour. In this context,
Gemma’s father had been an alcoholic. Therefore, growing up in an environment like that
Gemma had been continuously seeing her father. Therefore, she might be pre-disposed to think
that being alcoholic has no profound perils associated with the same.
In this context, the peer pressure could also be related to social stigma. An individual
here is often bullied for the natural behaviour or attitude possessed by them. Thus, constant
negative accolades received by may often result in the development of defensive behaviour in
an individual (Conway, Journal of American psychology). Here, Gemma had been suffering
partying had been seen to develop a tendency of partying hard with her friends. Most of this
resulted in Gemma neglecting her studies, which later developed into anxieties and frustrations.
The role played by the student support Council is immense in providing additional safeguards
against the development of additional mental diseases subjected to chain alcoholism (Ding,
2014). Moreover, the addiction to drinking has resulted in Gemma not being able to remember
the past events. This might subject her to security concerns and need to be addressed
accurately.
The following questions may be put forward to Gemma to understand the influence her
peers may have on her decision:
“Do you like partying with your friends...How often do you party with your friends?... Do you
often prefer hard drinks over soft drinks in the parties...Why or why not?”
Mental health of the support user
The sound mental and physical health of the support user is important determining
factors in the development or absenteeism from alcoholism. The mental condition of an
individual is affected by a variety of factors such as past life history along with present family
conditions of an individual. In this context, the failures to meet the pressure of the assignment

5ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION IN ADDICTION
deadlines as well as the anxieties of the exams have propelled Gemma towards alcoholism. A
number of factors affect the mental stability and resilience of an individual. Some of these
factors include family history or presence of genetic diseases. It has been found that pre-
disposition to drinking and other forms of substance misuse could be attributed to the presence
of (Brooks, 2014) depressive attitudes in an individual. Some of the mental diseases such as
bipolar disorder and Schizophrenia have shown additional tendency to be subjected towards
alcoholism. Mood disorders along with elevated levels of melancholy could be associated higher
risk of being subjected to alcoholism.
In this context, Gemma had been unable to cope up with the huge backlog in her
studies. The pressure had developed into a situation of mental frustrations propelling her
towards substance abuse. The student council can act as a support group to the ones suffering
from substance abuse. The support of the peer group can act as a motivation for the youngsters
suffering from the perils of substance misuse (Human, 2014). Some of the exercises that could
be implemented by the student council in order to relieve the situation of Gemma could be to
organise group talking within the daily regimens.
The plausible questions that could be asked to Gemma in order to investigate the
thought process behind the addictive behaviour depicted by her are:
“How pressurised you feel the burden of the assignment deadline impose upon you?.......What
can do you do to cope up with the pressure situation?...... What future strategies you could
adopt in order to prevent the recurrence of similar situations?
Effect of trauma on drinking
Physical and emotional trauma can have a profound effect on the lifestyle choices and
mental health of an individual. In this respect, Gemma has grown up in an environment where
her father had been a compulsive alcoholic. Thus, such a disturbed environment at home might
have affected her moral attributes. The effect of the bad habits and life style patterns adopted by
parents often have a dominating effect on the life style options chosen by an individual (De
Bellis, 2014).
Gemma owing to the lack of parental support and concern might be exposed to feelings
of loneliness or isolation. Thus, Gemma may want to be more so in the company of her peers
from whom she may get mental and emotional support. However, one of the challenges, which

6ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION IN ADDICTION
are most often faced by the councillors in dealing with support users such as Gemma, is privacy
concerns. It has been found that most of the support users do not wish to open up about their
past life experiences or any kind of abuses faced by them. Thus, such confidentiality may often
lead to suppression of facts, which are vital to the success of the treatment plan (Haller, 2014).
As a student counsellor, a number of questions may be asked to Gemma to understand the
perils faced by her in the past:
“Tell me about your past life experiences... some of the moments which had a profound effect
on your life...Good or bad! How do you perceive them? What can you do to change them?"
Possibilities of medical intervention
A number of possible medical interventions could be applied in order to cater to the need
of support requirements of the counselling service users. In this context, behaviour modification
can be brought about by counselling. In most cases, a very thin line exists between the
motivation to bring in the required changes within the lifestyle of an individual and seeking
adequate medical help (Roy-Byrne, 2014). Moreover, behavioural changes through support
group assessment where like minds going through similar situations of distress interact as such
exercises generate positivity and encouragement within an individual (Mertens, 2015).
Additionally, conventional medical interventions might be practised such as
acamprosate, which may control the cravings for alcohol in an individual by, restoring certain
chemical balances in the brain. The doctors may use naltrexone in order to reduce the
dependency for alcohol in an individual (Gustafson, 2014). Moreover, support users like Gemma
may be put into a holistic care regimen, which is mainly based upon incorporation of fresh fruits
in the diet of an individual. Along with group, talk and light exercises can also help an individual
in coping up with the cravings of alcohol. Additionally, positive counselling and sufficient
participation and cooperation from the family members of support users like Gemma can also
help in aiding the process.
In order to analyse the effectiveness of a particular medical intervention and approach in
coping up with the alcohol addiction of support users like Gemma, the following questions could
be put forward to her:

7ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION IN ADDICTION
“Tell me about the medical help that you have sought for dealing with your alcohol
addiction?.........How far have been the approaches helpful in providing you with the required
solution?.....Or do you think otherwise?”
Using the information to analyse the problem situation
Detailed assessments of the problem situation of Gemma have presented a number of
loopholes. In this respect, Gemma had been addicted to drinking owing to the stress, which was
built upon her due to inability to meet up with her required deadlines of submitting the
assignment. Moreover, the addiction to alcohol was making her more miserable. Therefore, a
number of causative factors could be entailed over here such as impulse to outdo some of her
peers with respect to catching up to the modern trends. Additionally, Gemma’s father had been
a long time alcoholic, which might easily trigger her resorting to alcohol.
However, there are a number of other problems where Gemma might be needing help
such as help to meet up the additional requirements of her course curriculum. In this respect, a
number of additional pre-requisites need to be considered such as the past life history of the
service user. The data gathered through such analysis can help in evaluating the cause of worry
of the support users. Moreover, maintaining a checklist while gathering responses through the
questions framed above can also help in reaching a suitable solution.

8ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION IN ADDICTION
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