Substance Abuse All Over the World - Case Study Example

Exploring Human Services - Substance Abuse Introduction “Eighteen percent of the population experiences a substance use disorder at some point in their lives, and the cost of addictive illness to the public is calculated at $246 billion per year in health care and lost work. Furthermore, at least 20% of patients in general medical facilities and 30% in general psychiatric units present with such problems, many of which go undiagnosed -- in some settings, many more” (DIVISION OF ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ABUSE, p.2). The term substance refers to any physical matter and the abuse of any physical matter can be referred as substance abuse. Apart from drug abuse, alcohol abuse and tobacco abuse also come under the label of substance abuse. Substance abuse is increasing day by day all over the world because of increasing stress levels at family, society and workplace. The current generation is tied up with so many commitments and responsibilities at family, society and workplace and it is difficult for them to fulfill all the commitments. The failure or pressure to fulfill the commitments increases the stress levels of an average person which finally lead him towards substances like alcohol, drug or tobacco in order to get at least some temporary relaxation. “Abused substances produce some form of intoxication that alters judgment, perception, attention, or physical control. The 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse estimated the number of users of illicit drugs in the United States to be about 13 million. In addition, the survey estimated that 10% of Americans abuse or are dependent on alcohol, and 25% of Americans smoke cigarettes” (Substance Abuse Overview). This paper briefly explains the substance abuse through the perspectives of human services in New York City. Substance abuse - Components of its "continuum of care" (Substance Abuse Continuum of Care) Substance abuse can be prevented with the combined effort of family, school, community, individual and peer. If either one component of the above mentioned domains neglect the substance abuse issue, the prevention would be much more difficult. The persons who are already addicted to substance abuse must be given proper treatment and at the same time prevention also should be given priority. Substance abuse can cause problems not only to the person who is addicted, but even for the relatives or other family members as well. For example, an alcohol or drug addicted pregnant woman can cause severe damages to the physical and mental development of the fetus. Moreover, substance abusive behavior of either of the parents can cause lot of damages to the children irrespective of their age or sex. So the problem of substance abuse must be tackled from all corners irrespective of the abuser, his family and the society in which he regularly interacts. All the family members of the abuser also should get proper guidance from the treatment providers. Group therapy, individual therapy, family therapy, psycho-educational presentations etc are mainly used as the treatment for substance abuse. Community assistance is necessary for the complete recovery of the substance abuser. It is necessary that the abuser should be observed continuously for a substantial period of time even after he/she completely recovered from the problem as it is easy for him/her to slip again in the absence of proper control. Substance abuse - Educational requirements for work in that field Good communication skills are the primary requirement for a professional who work as a counselor for substance abusers. The counselor should be a good listener and he should be able to put forward guidance to the abuser in a logical manner. Analytical ability is another aspect required for the counselor. The counselor should be able to analyze or judge the problems of the abuser correctly before suggesting remedies. It is not necessary that all the substance abusers are addicted because of a common reason. Every substance abuser has their own reasons for their addictive behavior and the correct assessment of the reasons is important for providing useful tips to the abuser. Patience and temperament are some other essential qualities required for the substance abuse counselor. The counselor must be ready to hear whatever the silly or complicated things the abuser put forwards. Educational requirement for the substance abuse counselor post is vary from state to state in America. But in general, many states accepted a Bachelor degree as the base for the substance abuse counselor profession. Some states may require counselors working in public employment to have earned a masters degree before becoming licensed (Substance Abuse Counselor: Training Requirements and Career Options) Substance abuse - Major laws that govern the sector in New York State There are lots of effective laws in New York City to control substance abuse. But the implementation of these laws, are not effective always. The abusers often find out loop holes in these laws and will escape from punishments even if they were caught. The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) is the legal entity which is responsible for formulating and implementing laws regarding substance abuse. As per the existing laws, the sale of alcoholic beverages to individuals under 21 years of age is prohibited (Paterson & Carpenter, p.2). Section 19.07(e) of the Mental Hygiene Law authorizes the Commissioner of the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services to adopt standards including necessary rules and regulations pertaining to chemical dependence services. Section 19.09(b) of the Mental Hygiene Law authorizes the Commissioner of the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services to adopt regulations necessary and proper to implement any matter under his or her jurisdiction. Section 32.01 of the Mental Hygiene Law authorizes the Commissioner of the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services to adopt any regulation reasonably necessary to implement and effectively exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred by Article 32 of the Mental Hygiene Law. Section 32.07(a) of the Mental Hygiene Law authorizes the Commissioner of the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services to adopt regulations to effectuate the provisions and purposes of Article 32 of the Mental Hygiene (CHEMICAL DEPENDENCE SERVICES GENERAL PROVISIONS) Substance abuse - Major funding sources Substance abuse is a big social problem which can be addressed only through expensive prevention strategies. Expensive researches are required to identify the root cause of substance abuse and the possible solutions or treatment option for the abusers. The awareness programs, treatment options, counseling etc needed to prevent substance abuse require funding from likeminded and deep pocketed sources. On May 18, 1992, the birth of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) was announced to the press, along with prominent mention of its sources of startup funding. United Press International reported that “more than $2 million” would come from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, “more than $5 million” from the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Rockefeller Foundation, and a single five-year, $8 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This latter windfall represented the single largest grant in that foundation’s history (a $13-million-plus grant to CASA in 1998 would later raise the bar even higher). A combination of private and public donors were already pouring $400 million per year into substance-abuse and addiction studies, mostly in long-standing university research programs (National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse) Substance abuse - Major professional organizations in NY Even though the number of substance abusers is increasing day by day, the number of professional organizations which deals with the substance abuse issue is also increasing in New York City. Different types of organizations are available in New York City to deal with the substance abuse issue. The Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse at NYU is responsible for implementing new ideas in training, research and clinical care, and to establish a model for similar programs nationwide. It is uniquely equipped to do so with its extensive facilities and broad-based faculty (DIVISION OF ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ABUSE, p.2). Addictive illness has been designated as a major academic and clinical focus in the NYU School of Medicine. A network of coordinated clinical care, research, and training has been established within the Bellevue Hospital Centers Substance Abuse Division. The Dual Diagnosis Unit (Dr. Crossman) is a 27-bed unit that was developed specifically for the rehabilitation of patients diagnosed for both general psychiatric and addictive disorders. The Chemical Dependency Outpatient Unit (Dr. Miescher) with 14,000 visits annually, begins treatment with an intensive period of engagement into ambulatory care, followed by outpatient group therapy and counseling. The Chemical Dependency Inpatient Unit (Dr. Cheney) is a 20-bed service that provides both short-term detoxification and long-term rehabilitation. The Methadone Maintenance Treatment Program (Drs. Polydorou and Whitley) provides intensive medical and psychiatric treatment, as well as ongoing drug counseling, for 350 patients. The Recovery Program (Dr. Horowitz) is an ambulatory treatment service adapted from the therapeutic community model for singly and dually diagnosed patients. The Continuing Treatment Program (The Greenhouse, Dr. Weinstein) is a halfway house for the dually-diagnosed. The Substance Abuse Research Education and Training (SARET, Adina Kalet, M.D) program educates an interdisciplinary group of medical, advanced practice nursing and dental students about addiction and the fundamentals of clinical research in this field. Learners are supported in a broad range of National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) funded research opportunities, implemented through research engagement with seasoned mentors within the NYU community. Center for Spirituality and Healthcare was established to undertake projects on spirituality and its role in recovery from psychiatric and medical illness (DIVISION OF ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ABUSE, p.3, 4, 5, 6 &7) Substance abuse - Likely future directions It is necessary to prevent substance abuse at any cost in order to make a strong and healthy future generation. It is not easy to eliminate substance completely from the society. But still with the co-operation of the public, social and governmental agencies, substance abuse can be minimized. School and college curriculum must include topics to educate youths regarding the negatives, substance abuse can cause to their future life. Educating the public is the better option than the legal prohibition. The medical shops should ensure that they are selling the medicines to the right persons and also they must ask for the doctor’s prescription before selling any type of medicines. Alcohol and tobacco uses must be prohibited legally. It is foolishness to think that just by putting some slogans like “smoking injurious to health” on cigarette packets and tobacco advertisements may control the tobacco addiction. The substance abuse prevention programs must be health educator led. The obvious absence of a dynamic or persuasive individual health educator to lead the students through the prevention program may not be a wise idea since the doubts of the students might not be answered well by a normal teacher (Sussman, et al, p.362) Conclusions Substance abuse is one of the oldest problems faced by the humans. Alcohol and tobacco abuse were started even thousands of years before. Drug abuse is the recent addition to the substance abuse list. Compared to other substance abuse drug addiction seems to be a big head ache for the New York state. Lots of laws and regulations are prevailing in New York City to control substance abuse, but the abusers are finding alternate options always. Educating the public especially the school and college children is one way of effectively tackling substance abuse. If not controlled properly substance abuse would make immense damages to the future generation than one would expect. Works Cited 1. “CHEMICAL DEPENDENCE SERVICES GENERAL PROVISIONS”. 22 November 2009. 2. “DIVISION OF ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ABUSE”. 2009. Department of Psychiatry New York University Medical Center2009-2011. 22 November 2009. 3. “National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse”. 2009. 22 November 2009. 4. Paterson David A. & Carpenter Karen M. 2009. “New York State Office of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Services: Addiction Services for Prevention, Treatment, Recovery”. 22 November 2009. 5. “Substance Abuse Counselor: Training Requirements and Career Options”2009.. 22 November 2009. 6. Sussman Steve, PhD, FAAHB; Dent Clyde W., PhD & Stacy Alan W., PhD. “Project Towards No Drug Abuse: A Review of the Findings and Future: Directions”. 22 November 2009.< http://www.atypon-link.com/PNG/doi/pdf/10.5555/ajhb.2002.26.5.354?cookieSet=1> 7. “Substance Abuse Continuum of Care”. 22 November 2009. 8. “Substance Abuse Overview”. 2009. 22 November 2009. http://www.emedicinehealth.com/substance_abuse/article_em.htm Read More