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Harris Kamran Psychology Case Study 13 August Addiction Crisis Case Scenario A forty five year old doctor presented with the criminal charge of diversion of narcotics. Since it was a criminal offense, he was given the option of choosing leave and treatment at the facility, rather than being terminated and reported to the police. The doctor was very angry at the situation, and was cursing and distraught. He was worried about losing his job and career, and was fretting about it.
He refused to contact his family and tell them of the situation. Given the situation of a criminal offense, the action strategy that was designed to provide help and support to the doctor was the choice of giving him a leave of absence and getting him enrolled in the treatment facility. This would not only provide him with a second chance at his job and career, but would also ensure his recovery from drug abuse, and his smooth transition into the normal social and psychological routine.
It is obvious that the doctor had been deviating drugs for his personal use, and so he needed the rehabilitation, whether he was to be terminated or just given a leave. The alternative would have been terminating his license and reporting him to the police. In that case also, he would have required a therapy session and rehabilitation for his continued abuse of drugs in the past. In either case, this treatment was necessary. The plan would be to address and try to resolve the initial and latent behavior patterns and actions of the subject, in order to restore him to the physical, psychological, and social health that he had experienced before his habit of drug deviation.
The initial strategy would be to calm the subject, by first letting him vent himself and then reassuring him about his anxieties of the future concerning his career and his therapy. Also, his refusal to contact his family would deprive him of his support system, so he should be made aware of that. The client is not in denial of his situation. In fact, he has recognized his condition and the unfolding of the events, and is dealing with them by venting his anger.
This is a positive sign. Also, his conscious decision of opting for leave and treatment instead of being reported to the police show that he understands the predicament that he is in, wants to deal with it, and wants to get better. He also realizes the harm that his actions would have had and already have had. This forms part of the reason for his decision for not calling his family, as he may be feeling remorse and guilt.
These are his strengths, and the therapy should work on them and start from there. The referral could be to a detoxifying treatment therapy and facility. The client could be encouraged to continue to corporate and get the treatment by giving him the confidence that his job would not be terminated and that he would be given a second chance, since this seems to be his greatest worry. In fact, he could be made to realize that the only way he can keep his job is to corporate with the therapist.
Help and support from his family should also be mobilized so that he can be rid of the guilt over his actions in order to facilitate his recovery.Works CitedTrull, Timothy J. and Mitchell J. Prinstein. Clinical Psychology. U.S: CengageLearning, 2012. Print.
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