I like the "Family Disease Approach". Substance abuse does not just affect the person using the substance the family is also affected. I believe in order for treatment to work the family has to learn a new way of engaging to assist in preventing relapse. I also, believe that substance abuse is so disruptive to the family each person is dealing with their own issues as a result of the abuse that may only be realized in therapy.
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Michael McLean
4/1/2013 01:56:03 am
Great weebly! I like how you mapped out the different theoretical approaches and how each one is used. I also enjoyed “the 7 C’s” for long term intimacy. One question I have is about the medications that are prescribed to maintain sobriety ( Antabuse, and Naltrexone) are this usually prescribed in most cases or just in certain ones?
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LaTonna Caleb
4/2/2013 12:08:41 pm
Hi Michael,
There are other medications that are prescribed when trying to decrease substance abuse cravings, however I believe Antabuse and Naltrexone are two of the main ones.
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Nicole Sangster- Lucas
4/1/2013 04:35:27 am
Hello,
Your group did a great job with your Weebly presentation. It is very organized! In answering your question, I believe combining Family Disease Approach and Behavioral Approaches would be most beneficial to clients affected by substance abuse. As you mentioned in your presentation, family plays a crucial role in recovery. I believe unification gives one a sense of not being alone and therefore would give the substance user a reason to recover. The Family Disease Approach in my opinion more involve the family while insinuating the substance use is a disease the whole family is suffering from. Though family involvement and work is essential, it is also important to empower the individual by making them in control of their recovery. Rewards and Punishments would be helpful in reducing then eliminating substance use.
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Jake Thrasher
4/1/2013 09:42:14 am
Hey group, I'm unsure if we are supposed to post on our own blog for points, so to be safe I figured I would. First, the final product is really great - well done everyone. Second, my prefered interventions are the pencil and paper methods discussed. Mainly because they are empirically tested designs with a lot of scientific validity and reliability. In counseling, the subjective is primarily the main source of information we have available to us, so I am a fan of any applicable objective measures that can be worked in to help strengthen treatment outcomes.
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Nichole Garcia
4/2/2013 02:30:06 am
Great job on your weebly page! I think this topic is very hard especially when doing therapy so it was very beneficial to read. After reading the different types of therapy, I thought they all sounded beneficial to use. But if I had to pick one, I would pick the behavioral approach. I would chose this one because developing different types of habits or behaviors is important for substance abusers so it can push them away from their old bad habits. Substance abusers have poor coping skills and need to learn how to develop new behaviors to keep their mind off the drug.
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Tyree Woods
4/2/2013 02:34:37 am
I would intergrate both the family disease approach and the family system approach. The first approach focuses on therapy for the whole family and the second focuses on the functioning of the family. Coping tools are needed to have a well functioning family. Each member of the family is in need of being able process the effects of substance abuse.
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Faith Boucher
4/2/2013 11:16:49 am
I feel that the Family Disease approach would be most effective when working with couples and substance abuse. Since codependency is so often an issue, I feel that it is really beneficial to approach these issues paying attention to not only the individual/couple but also the entire family. It is so critical that the entire family recieve treatment because the family system is affected in some (or many) ways by the substance abusers addiction. It is important to work through codependency issues because it can be a critical/necessary part of the recovery process.
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Sarah Moore
4/2/2013 03:49:32 pm
This presentation was very informative and looks very professional. An intervention that I found to be interesting is increasing positive exchanges, in which case the individuals track positive behaviors in their partner. I definitely feel as though this would help to foster a sense of caring and togetherness in a couple. Working in substance abuse, I notice that family and relationship conflict is often a trigger to use. I think that this intervention may help an individual to have "less attitude and more gratitude" toward their partner and relationship. They might be more likely to reach out to their partner for support when they are considering relapsing.
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Elizabeth Howison
4/3/2013 07:22:25 am
Great job on your Weebly page. It was very informative and well put together. I think the idea of couple therapy surrounding substance abuse is so fascinating because I imagine it would be very hard, if not impossible for someone to stop abusing substances without the commitment and support of their partner. As explained, the couple has to decide to make a lot of changes together such as whether or not they will keep alcohol in the house, go places that involve alcohol, hang out with friends that use, and whether the partner will still drink or whatever too. I liked the intervention about increasing positive exchanges in the relationship. I think it's important to focus on the good in the relationship especially when dealing with a substance abuser that may feel more pressured to use when they are unhappy and focused on the negatives in their life like their relationship issues. I also love love love the idea of shared rewarding activities. I think this is so important when dealing with substance abuse because the person's whole life changes, including their daily and recreational activities. I think it would be so important for the couple to plan new activities that don't involve substances that they can do and enjoy together. I would have to think it would be very helpful in strengthening their bond as a sober couple. You all did a great job again, I really enjoyed reading it.
Liz
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Yolanda Bradford
4/3/2013 11:05:33 am
Great job!!! Group four your weebly was well put together. It was clear, concise, easy to read and understand. The videos were an added bonus. Especially the 6 skills for families.
If I had to choose, I would use the Behavioral approach. I agree with the group. Couples must reduce the reinforcing behavior and create new behaviors that promote abstinence.
Again, Great job
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Kim Brown
4/3/2013 04:30:34 pm
I think the family system approach would most effective during therapy with couples affected by substance abuse. I believe that family function plays a factor in substance abuse treatment and important in success.
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Beth Dudley
4/4/2013 09:50:47 am
Though I think it the approach used definitely depends on the client, I like the family disease approach. I feel that this approach takes into consideration that the family is also effected, not just the person using the substances. I also like that the family is part of the treatment process, as they can show their support to the member using substances, as well as learn how they too can heal from the effects of having a family member using substances.
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Caitlyn Samples
4/4/2013 11:32:25 am
The techniques I would recommend would be to draft a behavior contract. It's also to explain that while the substance abuser is still using it is not going to provide an atmosphere for change within the family. The family members will need therapy to address the hurt and anger the substance abuse has caused to the family as well.
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Tina Morgan
4/4/2013 12:56:00 pm
Having grown up in a family that had an alcoholic abusive father I would feel the best approach would be the family disease approach. This involves the family as a whole and help the family heal as a whole. This disease not only affects the substance user but the family members as well. Great Weebly very nicely done. Lots of great information.
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Natalie Kahn
4/4/2013 01:46:49 pm
Hi group! The final product looks pretty good!
I wanted to comment and say that I think the video that we had to watch for this week was a good supplement to this webpage and our readings for class. Some of the interventions that stuck out for me that I think would be helpful when working with couples who are seeking treatment for substance abuse are; gathering information sequentially, using negotiation with couples, re-enacting, sharing rewarding activities, and skills training.
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Chris
4/5/2013 02:57:01 am
Great job with the Weebly. I enjoyed the format that you used for your assignment. The “7 C’s” were great. I found them very beneficial. If I had to pick one of the approaches, I would choose behavioral approaches. I am a firm believer in behaviors being the largest factor when it comes to substance abuse. I also believe that many times this behavior can be altered in order to help families. Developing these new behaviors can not only help the abuser, but the abused as well.
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Erika Talbert
4/5/2013 05:18:28 am
Great weebly page! In the video that we watched I enjoyed the use of the genogram. That was a family is allowed to see any past generations of substance abuse issues. This will allow for a person to see that this has been a problem that dates back to their elders. I would also use techniques of hard-core realization. I would be real with the couple to let them know that this will and can affect other issues in their life. I would tell them what could be the predicament of abusing substances.
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Melissa Groth
4/5/2013 06:51:51 am
Great job on your weebly. I think that each case should be treated differently and adjusted to fit with the couple. But, I think that behavioral observations/communication samples could be and effective intervention to use. With this method, the therapist is able to watch how the couple interactions and communicates with each other. By observing their interactions, the therapist will gain a better understanding of how they interact in their real lives and puts a more real aspect to their relationship and communication at home.
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Gina Papandrea
4/5/2013 10:19:36 am
First of all, this is a great weebly! I felt very informed and the information was well layed out-thank you! I believe that the behavioral contracting intervention would be very helpful in a situation where the couple was experience substance abuse. This intervention introduces the element of creating goals and implementing a set "plan" for each individual in the relationship. This is a strong way for the couple to look towards the future and to feel accomplished when they fulfill a goal they have created.
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Ziyu Chen
4/6/2013 05:01:58 am
Great job on this topic! For your question, I think it is very difficult to answer it because different case may find different intervention more effective on their own situation. I remember the video assigned for this week, there's a methods about genogram. The therapist said in the beginning that it is better to work with the families because people's behavioral patterns are easily influenced by their parents, so parents who have the history of substance abuse may have influences on their children. Drawing a genogram can help the therapist find the client's behaviroal patterns so that the therapist could choose more targeted interventions.
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LaTonna Caleb
4/6/2013 06:26:39 am
Great job group!
The intervention that I would use would be the "Family Disease Approach". My track is Family Systems and I think that any type of substance abuse within the family affects the entire family. Therefore, this approach would be beneficial to the entire family.
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Lauren Koerber
4/6/2013 10:52:45 am
Group four- great presentation! Your website looks very professional. I think the family approach is a good intervention for couples facing substance abuse. It is good to integrate the whole family into treatment because it focuses on support systems the couple has. I found it interesting to read about medications on the market for people to use because I didn't know this was an option. I learned a lot from going through the site. Also making contracts is a good way for the couple to commit to treatment.
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Substance Abuse
Natalie Kahn Chelsey Gallagher Jake Thrasher Jennifer Pantaleo Latonna Caleb
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