Treatment Interventions and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Paper

Benchmark – Treatment Interventions (Obj. 3.3)

Write a 1,000-1,250-word paper that gives a general overview of commonly used substance use disorder treatment approaches. In addition, you are to select two common approaches and compare their similarities and differences.

Include the following in your assignment:

• A brief description of common empirically researched substance use disorder treatments listed in the topic’s readings such as (MI, CBT, and SF). Include a minimum of two treatment descriptions.
• A discussion about the differences of each treatment listed.
• A discussion about which method you would prefer to use and why. Include a review of the benefits and risks of each method.
• A discussion of the considerations for age, disabilities, developmental level, culture and any other significant factors.
• A minimum of four scholarly sources.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.

Benchmark Information

This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competency and professional standards:

MS Clinical Mental Health Counseling

4.1: Assess valid and reliable research to answer questions for an identified problem, concern, or professional counseling intervention. [CACREP 2.F.8.b, 2.F.8.c, 2.F.8.d, 2.F.8.e, 2.F.8.f, 2.F.8.g, 2.F.8.h, 2.F.8.i, 2.F.8.j] (MC2)

This assignment is informed by the following CACREP Standards:

2.F.3.h. A general framework for understanding differing abilities and strategies for differentiated interventions.

2.F.8.b. Identification of evidence-based counseling practices.

REPLY TO 

There are many important aspects to counseling and counselor dispositions. Empathy is one that is essential to mental health counseling as well as addiction counseling. Many people who struggle with substance use disorders and addictions experience a good amount of scrutiny from the world and those that they are close to. Humans are often quick to judge an individual’s behavior and that shame than an addict feels can often feed their habit and it becomes a cycle of negative behaviors. A great technique in addiction counseling is motivational interviewing, and a foundation of motivational interviewing is empathy. Empathetic counselors demonstrate understanding for what the client is experiencing. Empathy portrays acceptance and that the counselor does not judge the client (Capuzzi and Stauffer, 2016). The communicative skill of empathy can help a client feel safe to share and motivated to make changes for themselves rather than for others.

In challenging a client, it is important to pose challenges on their values and the behavior either supporting or contradicting those values. This a part of motivational interviewing and can be done through active listening and reflection (Capuzzi and Stauffer, 2016). The counselor doesn’t immediately contradict what the client is saying, but instead summarizes and encourages the client to reflect on the behavior and values. From this process, the client experiences cognitive dissonance and the need to resolve that internal contradiction. Once the client has stated their desire to change the behaviors and recognizes which behaviors should be remedied, the counselor and client can brainstorm what possible options there are for treatment and resources.