For this Assignment, review the video, “Experiencing a Traumatic Event,” and consider how the traumatic event resulted in the individual seeking addiction treatment. Support your response with references to the resources and current literature.
Submit a 2- to 3-page paper that addresses the following:
• Create a relapse prevention plan for Greg.
• Identify the supports and risk factors for Greg’s possible relapse.
• Describe the factors that will likely contribute to Greg’s relapse .
• Describe the specific interventions that you would suggest.
• Explain the lifestyle changes that you would suggest Greg implement to avoid relapse.
Experiencing a Traumatic Event
Program Transcript GREG SIMPSON:
Growing up, I was a pretty good kid. I did well in school, and I wasn’t into drugs so my parents didn’t have any problems with me. I probably had my first drink during my senior year of high school. For me and my friends, that was normal. We didn’t think anything of it because we were just celebrating after a school dance or graduation. In college, I drank much more frequently. And I guess I could say I became a little reckless. But I was in college, and that’s what we all expected of each other. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hurt anybody. But I could have. I lucked out my junior year in college when that cop didn’t give me a DUI, just a warning. That wasn’t the first or the last time I drove when I shouldn’t have, though. So anyway, that was college. When I graduated, I met my wife, Tanya. And eventually, we were able to do all the normal things that most young married couples do because I had a decent job as a paramedic. I was good, too. Always had a knack for helping people. Anyway, you can’t imagine the kinds of things that you see while on the job in the middle of one of the most dangerous cities. Crime doesn’t stop and neither do the injuries. We had to help them. I could be working on a guy in the middle of the road, giving them CPR, and I would have to look over my shoulder and make sure there wasn’t someone else who might fire another shot. Even when I was able to help that person, there was another one, and then another one. Some the same, some different. Every day was a different day, but it was intense nonetheless. That’s what made me love the job. But after a while, it wears on you. You’re always in this state of constant alert. When I would get home from work, I would have a drink and relax. If the day was a little harder than the last, then I just had a few more drinks. It made sense. And at the time, I wasn’t worried. After my 10th year on the job, I had started drinking a bit even before work, just to take the edge off. Later on, I even started keeping a flask in my coat pocket just in case. Experiencing a Traumatic Event © 2013-2021 Walden University, LLC 2 Well, one day I guess I had drank a little too much. We were rushed to the scene of an accident and I was the one in charge of responding to a four-year-old boy. He looked a lot like my son did at that age. Well, I was not really all there. Things were kind of in and out of focus because I had been drinking so much that day. I remember putting him on the stretcher, making sure he was secure. But I didn’t realize that his leg had been cut really badly. He was bleeding everywhere, even all over me. But I just didn’t see it. I had his fingers in my hands and he looked up at me right in the eyes with this look, like he was so scared. He knew he was about to die. And then, he was gone. He died because I was too drunk to realize what was going on around me. That family no longer has a son because I didn’t do my job. Because I was too weak to handle the pressure of the job. I turned to alcohol instead of reaching out to someone who could help me. That’s the day I knew that I needed to seek out a counselor. I needed to find a way not to only deal with the pressures of work, but now also needed help in dealing with the fact that I let this little kid die. So the next day I did some research online and found a therapist to talk to. I scheduled an appointment at the next available time that he had, but that was two weeks from then. I needed someone right then and right there. I then decided to talk to my wife about it. She tried to make me feel better by explaining that death is a part of my job, but she didn’t really know how to help, especially with the drinking aspect of my problem. She was pretty shocked to hear just how bad it had gotten. Maybe she was just not paying attention or didn’t want to see it. I mean, everything happened, too, gradually over the years. Still, she offered to take all the alcohol that I drink out of the house, which was nice. But I knew that she still planned on having a drink when she came home from work every now and then or even just a glass of wine with dinner. Why would I have her change her lifestyle because of my problem? I eventually called a friend of mine who was recovering from an alcohol addiction. He gave me the number to this treatment center, and that’s why I’m here today
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Capuzzi, D., & Stauffer, M. D. (2020). Foundations of addictions counseling (4th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.
• Chapter 13, “Maintenance and Relapse Prevention” (pp. 274-294)
• Chapter 15, “Persons With Disabilities and Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders” (pp. 318-338)
Barbieri, B., Dal Corso, L., Sipio, D., Maria, A., De Carlo, A., & Benevene, P. (2016). Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises: the role of work engagement in support of people through the recovery process and in preventing relapse in drug and alcohol abuse. Work, 55(2), 373-383.
Blum, T. C., Davis, C. D., & Roman, P. M. (2014). Adopting evidence-based medically Helped treatments in substance abuse treatment organizations: Roles of leadership socialization and funding streams. Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, 37(1), 37-75.
Engel, K., Schaefer, M., Stickel, A., Binder, H., Heinz, A., & Richter, C. (2015). The role of psychological distress in relapse prevention of alcohol addiction. Can high scores on the SCL-90-R predict alcohol relapse?. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 51(1), 27-31.
Prakash, S., Ambekar, A., & Dayal, P. (2016). Occasional alcohol use, relapse to opioids and the role of disulfiram. Journal of Substance Use, 21(3), 228-229.
Vo, H. T., Robbins, E., Westwood, M., Lezama, D., & Fishman, M. (2016). Relapse prevention medications in community treatment for young adults with opioid addiction. Substance Abuse, 37(3), 392-397.
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