Social Work And Drug Use

This book offers a new approach to help students to understand problematic substance use across a range of social work practice settings. Written from both an anti-discriminatory and evidence-based perspective, the book highlights successful responses to the issues. Each chapter includes reflective exercises and examples of further reading, challenging students to critically reflect on their practice. The book provides a detailed understanding of: " Historical and current policy relating to prohibition and drug use " A range of substances and their potential effects on service users " Models of best practice including screening and assessment, brief intervention, motivation approaches and relapse prevention " Particular issues and needs of a diverse range of service user groups This will be an essential text for social work students taking courses in substance use and addiction. It will also be valuable reading for qualified social workers and students taking related courses across the health and social care field.

This book provides a comprehensive and practical account of this important area of health and social care and provides a basis for social workers to develop a rounded approach to their practice with drug and alcohol users.

It has long been recognised that clients with addiction problems need a skilled and thoughtful response when they come into contact with social services. However, students often find that policy and the law surrounding working with drug, alcohol and substance misusers can be complex and often unclear. This fully-revised third edition will help students cultivate the skills required to work effectively with clients and service users who misuse drugs and alcohol. There are clear introductions to the law and to social policy in this area, while the author considers how a holistic approach can be effective when working with this particular client group. Case studies and reflective exercises are used to draw out these key skills. The book also features sections on anti-oppressive practice with a focus on service user empowerment. With this third edition comes new material on social work practice with alcohol misusers, making this book even more essential reading for students and practitioners who want to engage with clients who struggle with addiction.

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.

Substance use has become an increasingly common concern for all aspects of social work practice, and especially when working with mental health and vulnerable families. This requires all social workers to have sufficient education and training in alcohol and other drugs across a range of settings. This volume presents evidence from a number of major studies which examine the current state of social work education in relation to substance use. These contextual considerations are complemented by specific applied analyses which explore classroom, methodological, practice and theoretical considerations within both the UK and America. Substance Use in Social Work Education and Training provides a strong evidence base for the effectiveness of appropriately-targeted education and support given to social workers. It further substantiates calls for a greater inclusion of more on substance use in social work education and curricula. This book is based on a special issue of the journal Social Work Education.

The editors of this volume have assembled recent articles discussing elements of each of the several commonly used psychosocial interventions -- including relapse prevention therapy, community reinforcement, voucher-based programs, self-help therapies, and motivational enhancement therapy--in addition to research-based articles that demonstrate the efficacy of these approaches. The selections in this book will provide the reader with a broad overview of the field as well as the specific information needed to use these therapies in a variety of clinical settings.

The Routledge Handbook of Social Work and Addictive Behaviors is a definitive resource about addictive behaviors, emphasizing substance misuse, gambling, and problematic technology use. Contents address their prevalence in various communities and populations globally, theories related to their origins and etiology, and what is currently known about effective intervention strategies, education, and research. Social work’s biopsychosocial, lifespan, and person-in-environment perspectives underpin the book contents which are applicable to a wide range of professional and social science disciplines. Contents are divided into five sections: The scope and nature of addictive behavior and related problems Addictive behavior across the lifespan and specific populations Interventions to prevent and address addictive behavior and related problems Issues frequently co-occurring with addictive behavior Moving forward This handbook provides students, practitioners, and scholars with a strong focus on cutting-edge high-quality research. With contributions from a global interdisciplinary team of leading scholars, this handbook is relevant to readers from social work, public health, psychology, education, sociology, criminal justice, medicine, nursing, human services, and health professions.

All across the United States, individuals, families, communities, and health care systems are struggling to cope with substance use, misuse, and substance use disorders. Substance misuse and substance use disorders have devastating effects, disrupt the future plans of too many young people, and all too often, end lives prematurely and tragically. Substance misuse is a major public health challenge and a priority for our nation to address. The effects of substance use are cumulative and costly for our society, placing burdens on workplaces, the health care system, families, states, and communities. The Report discusses opportunities to bring substance use disorder treatment and mainstream health care systems into alignment so that they can address a person's overall health, rather than a substance misuse or a physical health condition alone or in isolation. It also provides suggestions and recommendations for action that everyone-individuals, families, community leaders, law enforcement, health care professionals, policymakers, and researchers-can take to prevent substance misuse and reduce its consequences.