Introduction
In school, psychological problems and disorder among students occur due to the prevalent cases of drug abuse. Basically, psychological factors hold the biggest part in the person’s inclination to do drugs. According to American Psychologist (1998), the parenting style given to a student held the biggest impact on their future decisions, such as to do or no to do drugs. And also, they found that drug abuse is not the cause, but rather a “symptom” of social maladjustment and untowardly behavior.
According to American Psychologist (1998), the current war on drugs is not addressing the right problem. We could well be on the way to being drug-free if we re-examine the real cause of drug use. Are we really treating the children the way they should be? Are we doing our part in ensuring that the children will never resort to drug abuse in the near future?
Evidently, the quality of parenting can make or break the child’s future. Long before a child is thrown into the unforgiving world, he is first taken cared of by his parents. If they raise him well, he may be able to resist the need to do drugs. But if the child is raised in a much to tight or much too loose environment, he may develop certain characteristics that may cloud his decision-making capability or may keep him from reaching out to others and may therefore resort to something else.
From this issue, the need of having different psychologists’ expertise was necessary in school (i.e. substance abuse counselor, inpatient-only psychologist, child psychologist, adult psychologist and violent offender psychologists)
Discussions
Psychology, as by defined by Anonymous (2010), is the “Scientific study of human behavior, mental processes, and how they are affected and/or affect an individual or group's physical state, mental state, and external environment. The goal is to describe, understand, predict, and modify behavior.” Basically, psychologists’ expertise and psychology go hand in hand in shaping and sculpting the life of a person. In school, these are the foundation of the social life of every human being.
From the given lists of psychologists, they were given respective tasks to finish in accordance to their expertise. Normally, these psychologists will collaborate with local schools. The child psychologist basically, provides psychological preparation methods for children prior to medical procedures. The inpatient-only psychologist, on the other hand, provides treatment for chronic pain. Apparently, the adult psychologist provides psychological preparation methods for adults prior to medical procedures and surgery. With the help of the substance abuse counselor, the coordination of the use of recovery programs and structured programs for substance abuse, in conjunction with social worker will run smoothly. They also help in diagnosing stress disorders and aid in stress-relief interventions. For some cases, the substance abuse counselor also utilizes various methods to facilitate adjustment and coping skills with patients suffering a chronic or terminal illness. And for drug abusers that are turning as violent offenders, the violent offender psychologists handle them.
In school, drug abuse has the biggest impact on the Drug-Crime relationship (Chengappa, 2010). But with the help of health psychologists in schools, drug abuse and also crime rate was possibly eliminated. With these health psychologists created policy works with excellent goals and objectives. The goals and objectives are the following:
1. Educate and enable youth to reject illegal drugs as well as alcohol and tobacco.
2. Increase the safety of students and teachers by substantially reducing drug-related crime and violence in school.
3. Reduce health and social costs to the public of illegal drug use.
4. Shield school’s area from the drug threat.
Their first goal, which is to educate the youth on illegal drugs and alcohol, is a very good approach since they are letting the youth know the importance of resisting drugs and alcohol which may, in the future, ruin their lives. The following goals are also quite good because the only way to reduce the rate of drug users in the area is to cut off the drug users from the root. This policy created by the psychologists is a good one since it tackles the two most important aspects in the drug and crime relationship.
For the psychologists, knowing the determinants and the negative effects of drug addiction, give the idea that the effects of drugs can somehow be similar to the effects and consequences of alcoholism. It can be deduced that treating drug addiction can be as good as treating alcoholism, and presents tons of positive effects to the alcoholics, to the drug addicts and to the society as well (Shaw, 2002). Drug addicts and substance users can be subjected to several treatments depending on the type of substance that they consume. One of the treatments used by the psychologists is the Agonist Maintenance Treatment, or often-called the methadone treatment program, which is for opiate addicts and uses a long-acting synthetic opiate medication administered orally for a sustained period at a dosage sufficient to prevent opiate withdrawal (‘Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide’ 2005). Another treatment is the Narcotic Antagonist Treatment Using Naltrexone, which is also for opiate addicts and is conducted in outpatient settings although initiation of the medication often begins after medical detoxification in a residential setting (‘Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide’ 2005). The third provision of treatment is the Outpatient Drug-Free Treatment, which costs less that residential or inpatient treatment and often is more suitable for individuals who are employed or who have extensive social supports, as low-intensity programs may offer little more than drug education and admonition (‘Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide’ 2005). Lastly is the Long-Term Residential Treatment, which provides care 24 hours per day, generally in non-hospital settings (‘Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide’ 2005). It has been reported that the best-known residential treatment model is the therapeutic community, but residential treatment may also employ other models, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (‘Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide’ 2005).
According to Dr. Sho (2006), he argues that treating drug addiction can be most effective in a community setting, for it gives a recovery and cure rate that is better than with institutionalized treatment, giving only a success rate less than 20%. As an appraisal, the community-based treatment for drug addicts is much more appropriate and effective. This is because through this way of treatment, the drug addict can have the realization of regaining the trust of the people around him or her, including his or her family. Through community-based treatment, the recovering drug addicts can interact with their families and the community, which will be much more helpful for their speedy recovery. This would enable them to gain back their confidence in facing the world and their personal problems. With conventional treatments, the recovering addict and his or her family would be pressured to improve the condition, and this somehow induces only the recovery of the addict. Through the community-based treatment, the recovering addict can freely interact with many individuals, including other recovering addicts for improvement and development. An occasional group talk can be organized for keeping track of the conditions of each recovering addict and thus can contribute to their inspiration for quick recovery. Through community-based recovery, the recovering addict can also participate in community activities, which would also give him or her the chance to know his or herself better. Although the exposure to drugs and some other substances of the recovering addict can be a risk, the family, friends, concerned citizens, doctors and other healthcare practitioners can serve as guide to implement treatment for immediate recovery. These can also serve as a good motivation for alcoholism treatment. Community-based treatment can also be a better solution for the treatment and cure of alcoholics. Through this, the alcoholics can also experience the same benefits as the non-alcoholics. Similarly, risks of additional exposure to alcohol can be a result of the action, but through proper guidance, the alcoholic can achieve immediate recovery.
Conclusion
The problem of the society regarding drug addiction presents a myriad of consequences, which could create and lead to more problems. The addiction to drugs can lead to committing crimes in the society. This paper presented and discussed the certain aspects that determine substance use and misuse, and enable us to give an understanding why some individuals opt to engage in drug addiction. This report leads us to conclude that despite the presence of certain laws and policies and efforts from psychologists regarding drugs, many schools are still experiencing many drug problems. With these, it can be concluded that policies are not that effective to eradicate drug addiction in the society. Each needs discipline to at least lessen addiction in the society. We must all help one another in supporting treatment for drug addicts to foster a brighter and better society for the next generation.
References
American Psychologist 1998, Retrieved June 08, 2010 from http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/kids/Adolescent_Drug_Use_ALL.htm
Anonymous 2010, Psychology and Communication Studies: Overview. Retrieved June 08, 2010 from http://www.class.uidaho.edu/college/units/psych/overview.htm
Chengappa, R 2010, Public Perception Towards Drug Use, Retrieved June 08, 2010 from
Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide 2005, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Retrieved June 08, 2010 from
Shaw, V 2002, Substance Use and Abuse: Sociological Perspectives, Praeger, Westport, Connecticut.
Sho, LB 2006, The Star Online, Retrieved June 08, 2010 from
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