Drug Abuse and Social Worker Role - Research Paper Example

Drug Abuse and Social Worker Role This paper discusses drug abuse and the role of a social worker in overcoming the social problem. In the discussion of drug abuse, the paper gives a capsule history of the problem, and also discusses how widespread is the social problem; also, the paper explains the population that the social problem of drug abuse affects. After the general discussion of the social problem, the paper discusses the role of a social worker in addressing the problem, and the methods that the social workers use in trying to solve the social problem. The paper concludes with a personal reflection on the values and the ethical issues related to the problem of drug abuse. Let us begin by looking at the general history of drug abuse. Before we look at the history of drug abuse, it is important to look at the main difference between drug abuse and drug misuse because, in most cases, the two concepts are used interchangeably as Deema Jabel, et al., note in the article “Knowledge, Attitude and Opinion of Drug Misuse and Abuse by Pharmaceutical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Jordan” (2015). The main difference between drug abuse and drug misuse lies in the fact that drug abuse refers to the use of drug for non-medical purposes, while drug misuse refers to the use of drug for legitimate medical reasons, but in ways other than as directed by a physician (Deema, J. et al., 2015). For the sake of clarity, therefore, what we are dealing with in this paper is drug abuse, and not drug misuse. The history of drug abuse is as old as the history of man itself. The history of drug abuse can be traced to man’s history in developing curative drugs. As Amaele notes, drug use is a globally approved practice by man (Amaele, 2012). In man’s history, therefore, in every age, man has tried to invent various forms of drugs that would meet his need for curing and healing his various forms of sicknesses and diseases; as man discovered various forms of drugs that could cure him of his various diseases, man also discovered other forms of drugs that gave him some hallucinations and made him feel good (Amaele, 2012). For clarity sake, it is important to note that drug is any substance that alters the physical and the psychological functioning of an individual (Amaele, S., 2012). Once man discovered the drugs that gave him hallucinations, he was tempted to indulge into the drugs, purely for nonmedical reasons. For this reason, therefore, drug abuse is not a modern phenomenon, although the degree of drug abuse in the modern world may be higher, than the degree of drug abuse in other ages. This fact, however, can be contributed partly to the fact that, due to the advanced technologies in the modern world, man has been able to discover more drugs than he was able to discover in any other historical period. Drug abuse, therefore, is not a new phenomenon but it has always existed. For this reason, therefore, since man has always abused drug, in every historical epoch, it is impossible to give a historical chronology of man’s abuse of drugs. In the modern world, drug abuse is a rampant social problem that is widely spread in the whole human society. Because of its widespread nature as a social problem in the modern world, there is an urgent need to include curriculum on drug abuse and addictions, in the training of all counselors (Lee, T., 2014). As a social problem, drug abuse tangentially affects all the populations of human beings. Drug abuse, indeed, affects all people including children and teenagers (Insley, B., et al., 2004).This fact, therefore, shows that drug abuse is a widely spread social problem that affects all populations of human beings, and this problem, therefore, needs serious attention in addressing it. Although drug abuse is a real social problem in the modern world, there is, however, no legal mandate for social workers to be involved in the problem. Participation in the social problem by social workers is purely voluntary. Having looked at the history and the nature of drug abuse in the modern world, let us now look at the role of a social worker in addressing the problem. In addressing the menace of drug abuse, social workers have the following roles. Firstly, social workers have a role to assess and to identify drug addicts and drug abusers. Having been trained to ass and to identify the needs and the problems of their clients beyond the scope of the problem that they present first, social workers should be able to assess their clients and to diagnose drug abuse or drug addiction. For this reason, therefore, even if a client does not report the problem of drug abuse to a social worker, the social worker should do a comprehensive assessment of the client, taking into account possible drug abuse. If a social worker finds out that their client have signs of drug abuse or drug addiction, the social worker should suggest a course of treatment for their clients. The second role of a social worker in addressing and tackling the drug abuse problem is to directly treat their clients. Social workers are generally trained on counseling drug addicts in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, or in mental health clinics. Social workers, therefore, are not only trained to diagnose drug addiction, but also to treat drug addiction problem. The counseling that social workers provide to drug addicts is meant to help the addict to overcome the addiction problem and to start living a normal life again, free from the addiction. The third role of a social worker in addressing the problem of drug abuse is educating the members of the public on the dangers of drug abuse. Social workers have a role to act as drug abuse educators in creating awareness about the drug abuse menace. Social workers can educate the public about the dangers of drug abuse either in schools, community outreach, or any other appropriate setting. Creating awareness about the dangers of drug abuse is a powerful way of preventing or curbing drug abuse in the society. The fourth role of social workers in addressing drug abuse is research. Social workers have a role to conduct academic research on ways and better methods of overcoming drug abuse in the society. Such academic research helps a great deal in inventing better ways and better methods of overcoming the problem of drug addiction. The fifth role of social workers in addressing the problem of drug addiction is to support the family members of drug addicts. Family members of a drug addict generally undergo a host of psychological, social and economic problems. For this reason, therefore, social workers have a role to play in offering support to the family members of a drug addict. Such support, offered mainly in terms of counseling, is meant to help the family members of a drug addict to overcome the social, the psychological, and the economic problems that they may be going through. Social workers deal with all populations of people affected by drug abuse problem. These populations include the perpetrators, the victims, the voluntary drug addicts who are willing to be helped, and the involuntary drug addicts, who may not be opposed to being helped to overcome the drug addiction problem, but they nevertheless do not expressly ask for help. Social workers who help in drug addiction problems are employed in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, schools, or in any other setting where they will be able to interact with people on drug addiction. Social workers are generally received warmly by the members of the public in their attempt to find solution to the problem of drug abuse. In some cases, however, social workers are perceived as a nuisance by some people; in some cases, therefore, social workers are received negatively by the public. Let us now turn to the methods that social workers use in trying to solve the problem of drug use in the society. Social workers, indeed, use various methods in trying to solve the problem of drug abuse. The methods that social workers use in trying to solve the problem of drug abuse are closely related with the roles of social workers in solving the problem of drug abuse. One of the methods that social workers use in trying to solve the problem of drug abuse is to assess and to diagnose drug abuse in their clients. In their training, social workers are well trained on ways of assessing and identifying signs of drug addiction in their clients. This method, therefore, is an important first step in trying to solve the problem of drug abuse. The second method that social workers employ in trying to solve the problem of drug abuse is to treat drug addicts; social workers counsel and advice drug abusers on what to do so as to stop abusing drugs. The third method employed by social workers in trying to solve the problem of drug abuse is to create public awareness about the dangers of abusing drugs. This method is based on the fact that, a well informed members of the public are less likely to indulge in drug abuse than ignorant members of the public. Social workers also employ the method of conducting academic research on better ways of overcoming the problem of drug abuse. The academic research helps social workers to come up with better ways of addressing the problems of drug abuse. Due to research on drug abuse, many modern methods of solving the problems of drug abuse are actually science based (Haggerty & Shapiro, 2013). Lastly, social workers employ the method of supporting the family members of drug abusers, so as to help them to overcome the myriad of social, psychological, and the economic problems that they may be going through because of their family member who is a drug addict. Let us now turn to the current attempts made by social workers in trying to solve the problems of drug abuse. The following are the two main current attempts made by social workers in helping their clients to solve their drug abuse problems. The first attempt is research. Currently, social workers all over the world are conducting various researches in an attempt to discover better and more effective ways of resolving drug abuse problems. Social workers, also, are researching on the reasons why some people are more prone to drug addiction than others (The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior letter, 2013), (McLntyre, n.d.), and (Litvinova, 2014). The second current attempt made by social workers in trying to solve the problem of drug abuse is counseling the family members of drug abusers. The social workers are, indeed, doing a very important work in helping the family members of drug abusers to overcome the various challenges that they are going though. As I conclude, let me offer my personal reflection on the values and ethical issues related to the problem of drug abuse and the role of social workers in solving the social problem of drug abuse. One ethical issue that the problem of drug abuse raises is the issue of confidentiality. The value of confidentiality demands that, in carrying out their functions, the social workers should strictly keep confidential all the confidential matter that they discuss with their clients. In assessing their clients and in treating them, therefore, the social workers should strictly keep confidential all the confidential matters that they discuss with their clients. In some instances, however, some social workers breach this ethical requirement and divulge, to the third party confidential information about their clients. In my view, it is grossly wrong to divulge confidential information about the client, because the revelation of such information to the public demoralizes the client. The second ethical issue that this topic raises is the issue of informed consent. In the discussion of the roles of social workers in addressing the problem of drug abuse, we have seen that social workers have a role to assess their clients on drug abuse, whether or not the clients have asked for the assessment. This issue raises the important ethical question: is it morally permissible to assess a client of drug abuse when the client has not asked for it? This issue is indeed a controversial issue and different scholars are bound to take different positions on it. In my view, it is morally right to assess client for drug abuse, even if the consent of the client is not sought before the assessment. This is because the assessment will be of big benefit to the client, and it will not affect the client negatively, in any way. In my reflections on what the social workers are doing to solve the problem of drug abuse, I agree with what the professional social workers are doing to solve the problem. This is because a look at the roles of social workers in addressing the problem of drug abuse, and a look also at the methods that the social workers are employing in addressing this problem shows that the social workers are doing their best to effectively solve the problems of drug abuse. Despite agreeing with what the social workers are doing to solve the problem of drug abuse in society, I would, however, employ a more holistic approach in preventing drug abuse. This approach would consist of including religious institutions and even homes, and any other important social institution in fighting drug abuse. Such approach would definitely yield better results than just involving schools, hospitals, and rehabilitation centres in fighting drug abuse. References Amaele, S. (2012). “ Alternative Measures for the Control of Drug Abuse in Nigerian School System”. International Journal of Academic Research. November, Vol. 4. No. 6. Dema, J., et al. (2015). “Knowledge, Attitude and Opinion of Drug Misuse and Abuse by Pharmacy Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Jordan”. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research. August; 14(8): 1501- 1508. Haggerty, K.P. & Shapiro, V.B. (2013). “Science- Based Prevention Through Communities that Care: A Model of Social Work Practice for Public Health”. Social Work in Public Health. USA: Taylor and Francis Group. Insley, B., et al. (2004). “Trends in Child and Teen Nonprescription Drug Abuse Reported to a Regional Poison Control Centre”. Am J Health Syst Pharm. June, Vol. 61. Lee, T. K. ( 2014). “Additional Education and Training for Counselors: A Qualitative Study of Five Experts”. Journal of Addictions and Offender Counselling. October, vol.35. Litvinova, N.A. (2014). “Arrangement of Social-Pedagogical Preventive Measures Against Drug Abuse by At-Risk Teenagers at General-Education School”. European Researcher. Vol.66. No.1-1 McLntyre, et al. (n.d). “Drug and Alcohol Abuse among Individuals with Acquired Brain Injury”. The Canadian Journal of Addiction Medicine. The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter. (2013). “New to DSM: Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder”. April. USA: John Wiley & Sons. Read More