Imagine you are a counselor working in a psychological model treatment program. Select one of the case studies you were introduced to in Unit 1 to represent your “client,” who is seeking help from your program. You may choose the same one that you used for The Disease Models assignment, or you may choose to use a different case study.
Identify the client from the case study and briefly summarize the client’s demographic characteristics and addictive behavior history that are relevant to the psychological models of addiction. This section sets the stage for the next sections.
Applications of Psychological Models—In this section:
Apply your understanding of one or more of the psychological models of addiction to your client. Do client demographics and history suggest that your client suffers from a psychological model of addiction? Based on your interpretation, what psychological model treatment strategies might you recommend for this client?
Sociocultural Factors and the Psychological Models—Finally, in this section:
Describe how sociocultural factors (poverty, education, drug laws, media portrayal of addiction and treatment, and support for harm reduction methods like methadone maintenance and needle exchange programs) may affect the client’s perception of the problem and the addictive behavior. Does the media present psychological models of addiction with the same support shown to the medical, pharmaceutical, and recovery industries? If not, how could that affect the client’s acceptance of psychological models of addiction treatment?
Describe sociocultural factors that may contribute to the addictive behavior as well as factors that may be helpful in overcoming the addiction from the perspective of the psychological models of addiction.