health Service

Nowadays, drug addiction and drug abuse are a major social issue in the world. So a social assistant who is professional in addiction services will be at the forefront of the epidemic. Helping those facing drug abuse disorder will challenge all social assistant’s skills. Many of those who suffer from addiction show signs of mental illness, these people have a double diagnosis. They need special treatment to ensure they are able to achieve and maintain a higher quality of life.

Social assistants of Addiction, are professional in helping clients to solve addictive drug-related behaviors and other triggers that have resulted in unpleasant consequences. They also provide counseling to the addict’s family.

Treatment plans provide patient counseling at private and group meetings and customer evaluation. The tasks of a social assistant may be different, but the are as an important member of a multidisciplinary team of professionals, doctors, human resources staff and nurses who work together to provide tailor-made treatment programs for their clients.

The social assistant’s clinical ability and understanding of the disease as a social issue allows him to provide the appropriate treatment for the team. While most people consider drugs and alcohol as the most commonly used addictive substance, there are a wide range of drugs and behavioral addictions that are identified and treated by addictive social assistants. Some of the drugs and activities that can lead to addiction and compulsive behavior include:

Alcohol

Nicotine

Illegal drugs

Prescription Drugs

Food

Gambling

Sexual relationship

those who depend on substances such as drugs or alcohol often experience significant physical harm from their addiction, but those who have advanced behavioral addictions may not show clear symptoms, but the challenges associated with their treatment are not complicated.

social assistants help individuals overcome their addiction and return to healthy natural life by combining knowledge of mental and behavioral disorders, substance abuse and chemical dependence with their expertise in the fields of evaluation, treatment and treatment interventions.

Why do we need addicting social assistants?

Like many other mental health problems, addiction is not discriminatory. Although many people think of addiction, the images of low-income areas or so called slams come to their mind, but in fact this problem can affect anyone. Addiction affects not only the addicted person but also the person who is around him. Several types of problems seem to pose a danger to addicts. In order to resolve these problems and prevent future problems, addicts should usually ask for help from social assistants and other similar professionals. Only after proper treatment, most addicts begin to get better and get away with their devastating effects.

In addition to treatments such as addiction detoxification and drug treatment, addiction psychology and psychological treatments provide great help in treating, preventing relapse, returning and rehabilitating the addicts. The implementation of psychotherapy can enhance the effects of drug therapy. Psychological interventions are an inevitable part of the treatment of drug dependence. The purpose of psychotherapy for addicts is to use the principles, concepts and findings of psychology in the treatment of drug dependents. Psychotherapy can lead to increased motivation, social support, learning communication skills, and how to deal with problems associated with drug use. An important element in returning to addiction is the psychological driver rather than psychological need i.e. the addict is going to re-use, so it is considered as a very important phenomenon in psychotherapy, prevention of relapse or return. The first explanation for addiction and its treatment was introduced by psychoanalysts. Subsequently, cognitive-behavioral views and pariah approaches also paid their attention to addiction future studies.

Psychologists who follow the psychoanalytic view of addiction know the root of addiction in psychological conflict. Addiction is a sign of fundamental disturbances, incomplete performance, a lack of emotional functioning and object relationships, and in general it is caused by psychological problems that are sign of major emotional problems. Psychoanalysts consider the  resolving of psychological conflict in treating the problems of substance dependents and believe that by eliminating these conflicts, addiction will be resolved. Based on newer approaches to psychoanalysis, addiction is derived from defective defensive and adaptive functions and disturbed object relationships. In these approaches, the therapist has a role as a teacher or counsel that emphasizes the teaching of drug dependents to affiliates in order to cease the dependencies.

According to Eduard Khanstzian, a psychiatrist, substance abuse is a result of an individual’s efforts to strengthen his sense of weakness and a compensation for his/her incomplete performance. Accordingly, the goal of the treatment is to help the patient to increase his/her performance and achieve insight. Khanstzian also considers prevention of return and self-help as important elements of treatment. He has devised a psycho-dynamic method to treat dependents of group therapy therapies.

Successful treatment of drug use is affected by several factors, such as the type of substance (cannabis, Xenical tablets, opium and etc.), the method of drug use (oral, smoking, injection), the history and duration of drug intake, the motivation of the person taking the medicine, the specific personality traits of the consumer, skills and experience of the therapist, individual benefit from family and social support. However, drug abuse treatment methods include drug therapies and non-medical treatments (psychological / counseling). The purpose of drug therapy is to eliminate physical dependence on drug use. The goal of non-pharmacological treatment is to eliminate psychological dependence on drug use. We must know that some materials have stronger physical dependence and other mental affiliation. The important point is that any kind of dependency on the person who consumes substances is a form of compulsion for substance use. Unfortunately, in many cases it is believed that the elimination of physical dependence (detoxification) is the same with the treatment of addiction, while if psychiatric dependence remains untreated, the probability of recurrence of substance abuse is very high. At the same time, it should be noted that in many cases, the person who consumes the substance has one of the types of mental disorders (mood disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders, adaptive disorders, etc.), and the treatment process will be successful when the mental disorder (Along with addiction) is considered and treated. We must know that the most suitable people for drug treatment are psychiatrists (psychiatrists) or general practitioners. Of course, it is essential for general practitioners to take courses in “drug addiction”. The most suitable individuals for psychological treatment and counseling are addicts, clinical psychologists and counselors with experience in the field.

First stage of treatment, detoxification and stabilization

Detoxification is a process in which patients are assisted with medical care and medication to at least minimize physical and mental problems when they leave the material and to achieve a better function. Detoxification alone does not cause long-term improvement, but should be considered as a stage of patient’s preparation for continued treatment, maintaining the status of cleaning from substances and encouraging rehabilitation. Detoxification is done in a variety of ways. The most important of these methods are:

• Using clonidine tablets along with drugs like Oxazepam or Clonazepam
• Use of oral Methadone.
• Use of Buprenorphine.
• Use of Naltrexone and Naloxone.
• Super-fast detoxification using complete anesthetic.

It should be kept in mind that the most appropriate treatment method, taking into account the least adverse side effects and the highest probability of success for each patient, depends on the patient’s specific conditions and the diagnosis of the physician. Acupuncture therapies are the only alternative treatment that has been shown to be scientifically effective.

Success factors for detoxification and stabilization

The main goal at this stage is to take unsafe signs and symptoms of withdrawal, to achieve complete avoidance and motivating the patient to continue treatment and to enter the prevention and to relapse prevention stage.