Substance abuse is a scourge that gives birth to numerous societal evils, such as poverty, homelessness, drug peddling, and crime. Fighting a substance abuse disorder is not easy. It is a journey marked with roadblocks, obstacles, and severe mental health problems.
It’s common for drug addicts to experience overlapping symptoms of various mental disorders, including depression and schizophrenia. Society often discards and marginalizes people with substance abuse disorders, primarily for their inability to participate and contribute to social activities. It is where social workers step in to create an inclusive, facilitative, and nurturing environment to help patients heal.
Substance abuse social workers are highly trained and skilled professionals who work with patients to help them overcome addictions. In this article, we will take a closer look at the contributions social workers make to substance abuse treatments.
Contents
1. Addressing Substance Abuse Problems
Social workers operate in a multitude of settings, such as hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers, and community centers. They engage with patients in various settings and play an instrumental role in addressing substance abuse problems.
These trained professionals leverage their knowledge of human processes to address substance abuse and other overlapping mental health concerns. Social workers dealing with substance abuse typically have clinical training and expertise. They often act as case managers to help substance abuse patients closely address their complex needs and help them recover.
Cultural efficacy and inclusivity are of the utmost significance. Often, these workers cater to substance abuse problems within ethnically and racially marginalized communities. There’s a growing focus on cultural competence in social work so professionals can operate in multicultural settings with seamless ease. Social workers address substance abuse problems triggered by social and cultural norms to devise effective solutions.
2. Devising Pharmacological Interventions
Substance abuse social workers undergo extensive clinical training and often hold licensure to administer psychotherapy. In hospital settings, these individuals are responsible for designing treatment plans and provide patients with resources to ensure a speedy recovery.
In community settings, social workers often work on case-basis to help ensure the recovery of one or more patients. Social workers with clinical knowledge and skills help reduce medical costs by designing effective pharmacological interventions to help patients. They play considerable roles in stabilizing patients, incentivizing them to recover, and preventing relapses.
Relapses are the most significant obstacle on the road to recovery. Social workers help patients despite their setbacks and provide them with reliable resources and unwavering support. Since substance abuse patients need support and encouragement much more than people suffering from any other disease, these individuals make sure to keep things bearable for them.
3. Uncovering Hidden Issues & Devising Solutions
Social workers work closely with patients, which increases their understanding of the patient’s unique circumstances and challenges. They uncover hidden issues underlying deep beneath the surface and address them with practical solutions. Social workers dig deep to understand the causes of substance abuse disorder to better help patients.
Some professionals devote their careers to help children impacted by addicted parents, while others advocate treating overlapping mental conditions. Social workers are leading the fight against substance abuse by providing patients compassion, care, and concern. They improve care accessibility and equality by helping patients who are often denied care due to poverty.
Alarmingly, rehabilitation facilities often deny treatments to patients with concurrent diagnoses. It’s common for substance abuse specialists to turn down patients they feel unequipped to handle. However, social workers strive hard to find the resources and support to combat these mental health challenges.
4. Counseling Sessions & Rehabilitative Activities
A substance abuse social worker’s typical workday revolves around treatment plans, counseling sessions, and group therapies. They assess patients to identify their symptoms and then design treatment plans that effectively address their concerns.
In community settings, such as outpatient clinics, social workers deal with a regular stream of patients. When a crisis erupts, social workers have to leave everything and devote all their time and resources to help patients. It wouldn’t be wrong to imagine them as crisis managers who help substance abuse patients give their lives a new direction.
These professionals also interact with clients for one-to-one sessions. Based on the patients’ needs, they organized group therapies, family therapies, and couple counseling. Some social workers dedicate their careers to helping teenagers struggling with substance abuse. Others focus on marginalized communities, intellectually disabled populations, and poverty-stricken patients.
5. Addressing Behavioral Challenges
It’s interesting to note how social workers address multiple overlapping issues triggered by substance abuse disorders. They dig deeper than most mental health professionals do to identify the deep-rooted problems that trigger or exacerbate substance abuse symptoms.
They work with patients, family members, spouses, and partners to investigate behavioral, cognitive, and environmental challenges. They investigate the patients’ environment and underlying risk factors that lead to suicidal ideation or drug overdose. They identify signs of relapse and discouragement to deter patients from quitting the program or running away.
Social workers do everything in their power to help minimize challenges and maximize the potential for recovery.
Conclusion
Patients diagnosed with substance abuse disorder struggle with multiple overlapping and underlying mental health conditions. While rehabilitation facilities and clinicians face extensive workloads and underequipped, social workers create hope for recovery and improvement.
Indeed, social workers are better equipped and more resourceful to help people overcome substance abuse and addictions. They offer patients a nurturing and facilitative environment and consistent support to begin their journey of recovery. Substance abuse social workers are much more supportive and reachable than mental healthcare providers.
