Treatment Plan When a Client Presents for Essay

Treatment Plan

When a client presents for alcohol addiction, one of the most fundamental facts a therapist should understand is that the substance and its physical effects on the body is seldom the fundamental reason for continued struggle. During the first step of creating a treatment plan, the therapist should therefore consider the underlying psychological and mental conditions that might have led to the first appearance of the abuse or dependence problem, while reasons for relapse should also be closely investigated. In other words, a whole-person approach should be used when assessing the client and creating a treatment plan. This is also the case with James, whose long-term alcohol abuse condition seems closely related to his initial family relationships and later to internalized psychological conditions created by these formative years. As such, the treatment plan should include four basic steps; the assessment, detoxification, active treatment, and relapse prevention.

According to Markowitz (2010), the first step in a treatment plan for alcohol addiction is an assessment. This should include not only an assessment of the circumstances surrounding James' addiction, but also of his own awareness that there is a problem to be treated.It appears that James is well aware that he has a problem and that it needs treatment. The assessment has also revealed that the basis of James' addiction problems is probably his feelings of acceptance/rejection. This is apparent in his early relationships with his family and his later relationship with his first wife; it appears that he experienced her as rejecting him "as he was" and wanting to improve him in some way. Based on his early feelings, this could have been a trigger for James' later drinking problems. The fact that these problems have been recurring despite several entries into rehabilitation facilities indicates that the root of the problem has not been adequately addressed. After the initial detox phase, this should then form one of the basis aspects of active treatment.

For the detoxification phase, it is projected that James will probably benefit from an outpatient detoxification program. There are no denial barriers, and James has a large amount….....