Ego-Oriented Intervention With Diverse and Oppressed Populations Essay

Theory

The ego-orientated intervention theory holds that the subject scenario will improve if his/her self-esteem and ego, as well as self-concept, are bolstered. The DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association 1994) outlines that substance abuse is a maladaptive pattern of substance use the results in clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by one or more of the items outlined below;

• Failure to meet major social role obligations at work, school, or even in domestic precincts
• Engaging in physically dangerous activities, substance-related legal problems, and perpetual substance use regardless of its evident negative personal and interpersonal effects.

Kendall RE (1983) notes that substance because may or maybe without psychological dependence. There has been a paradigmatic and perspective shift from the view of substance abuse and a negative evil and sinful conduct into more proactivist approaches that seek to understand the dynamism of the problem and find feasible solutions to it.

Application

Health and social work practitioners who have made use of the mental health model in close relation to the Ego-Orientated approach in dealing with the problem of an addiction normally regard substance abuse as part of the efforts to implement means of self-medication. This abuse of substance has also been viewed by many practitioners as an expression of a way of handling entrenched personal predicaments. This has made psychodynamically inclined practitioners shift from attacking the abuse problem directly and rather adopt a holistic and far-reaching approach in the understanding that the former will would result in the diminishing of the victim’s self-esteem and ego

The other perspective is grounded on the learning model that holds alcohol and substances abuse as emanating from maladaptive, conditioning and the acquisition of new behavior. The thrust reinforces the support for individuals to gain control over their substance abuse predicament either via abstinence or regulated use of drugs or alcohol. The dilemma on this dimension is presented by the question that, will controlled substance use be realistic or it will imminently lead to abuse?

Practice

The core tenet and perspective on the subject of substance abuse-related social therapy dwells on that the problem has to be placed within the broader precincts of the factors that characterize the environment of the affected individual. The practical application of the model has in several social therapy cases employed in the thrust of bolstering subjects’ morale and self-concepts. I also noticed in my experiential cases that the enunciation of a client’s positive environments and personal attributes sin the aim to salvage their esteem and embolden their self-concept identifies with conceptual tenets of the ego-centered social therapy approach. The external factors that can also be used to map a framework that constitutes the source of an individual‘s problems culminating in and from substance abuse can be social like poverty, unemployment, etc. In practice, this perspective has also been used when problems of such nature facing individuals are contextualized within broader socio-cultural and sometimes political factors. This perspective argues for the interventions that will focus on reducing the environmental stresses that push people to drink or to abuse drugs as well as the support for the substance abuser to come up with feasible means of coping with external forces. The criticism that has dominated the critiquing of this approach is based on the understanding that the perspective is highly likely to cause abusers to shirk responsibility for their behavior owing to the fact that the perspective makes them externalize their problems than take responsibility for them.

Case study

In highlighting the social effects of alcoholism the rehabilitation scenario was involved as a social work internship in one organization that tapped in the merits of the Ego-oriented intervention approach. I had to deal with an alcoholism-related scenario that featured a young adult at the age of 26. The young adult’s problem has escalated to suicidal levels. The primary effect is a trigger to a ripple pattern of ill consequences of excessive intake. Kendall RE (1983) adds that alcoholics have a very high suicide rate with studies showing between 8% and 21% of alcoholics commit suicide. “Alcoholism also has a significant adverse impact on mental health. The risk of alcoholics committing suicide has been determined to be 5080 times higher than the general public average.” (Optic)

The social rehabilitation process entailed the enlightening of the subject on a plethora of serious health repercussions culminating from the excessive intake of alcohol. These include liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis, epilepsy, polyneuropathy, alcoholic, dementia, heart disease, and pluralize risks of contracting cancer as well as sexual dysfunction. The worst result is death from the collusion of excessive alcoholic intake triggered factors.

Wetterling T; Junghanns K (2000) notes that the Ego-oriented intervention approach extends to many diverse populations. “The ego-centered social therapy model strives to establish important linkages between affected individuals and families as well as groups in problem-resolution as the theory is closely related to other family linkages and groups theories and conceptual frameworks”. (Wetterling T; Junghanns K, 2000).

In light of the foregoing, I used my knowledge on the research established links on family tree intensity of alcoholism in what is called the history density of alcoholism (FHD), youth family accord, and young adult’s alcohol reliance. The foregoing seems applied squarely to the victim’s scenario taking into consideration the client’s detailing of his alcoholic family history. This is one area in which theory came to meet practice and enhanced the essence and meaningfulness of the social rehabilitation exercise.

References

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