Assessment of Need
Alcoholism is a mental illness caused by excessive alcohol consumption. As a result of constant intoxication, a person’s health deteriorates greatly, and his or her ability to work, well-being, and moral values decrease. Alcoholism is also characterized by the fact that a person becomes dependent on alcohol. Therefore, when there is no alcohol, the alcoholic suffers, and, to alleviate his or her suffering, he or she continuously repeats the alcohol intake. Therefore, it becomes evident that alcoholism is incompatible with a healthy lifestyle. However, it is essential to assess the learning need before applying combatting strategies. The given case revolves around my client, who continuously suffers from relapses, alcoholism, depression, and anxiety. The teaching approach will be focused on replacing her addiction with God and prayers as the centerpiece elements of 12 steps methodology.
Methodology
Combatting alcoholism and any form of addiction requires a high level of dedication and a learning process. It is stated that a teacher or educator must be capable of assessing a client’s needs and developing effective teaching strategies to help him or her (Farquharson, 1995). In my case, I identified the condition of my patient by actively communicating with her and researching their history, which contains several relapses and long-term substance abuse. The process involved proper questioning and listening to the client’s description of her problems as well as the degree of awareness regarding the addiction.
As an ex-alcoholic myself, many elements from her life story and the challenges she faced were highly relatable, and there were clear patterns of continuous escapism. After years of downfall, she is finally ready to make the necessary changes to improve her life and take control of her addiction. Therefore, the patient’s need is to quit alcohol and other substances with no relapses by following the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, which needs to be learned by her with my assistance and help as an educator.
Description of Need or Opportunity for Empowerment
The client is a 67-year-old woman who has been abusing substances and drinking for most of her life. She exhibits such behavior because she wants to escape the hardships and challenges. In addition, she suffers from depression and anxiety due to her childhood trauma, which left her scarred and prone to escapism. It all started in her adolescence when she began trying and experimenting with substances, including alcohol. During her mid to late twenties, the patient’s addiction became a problem. She made numerous attempts to quit throughout her life, but they were always followed by relapses. For example, she tried to stop drinking for the last two years twice, which resulted in relapses within a week.
My Constructive Action plan will primarily focus on expanding and deepening the overall spiritual awakening of the client. I will focus on the key elements of the 12 steps, which is God, and teach her that she needs to adhere to prayer and contemplation to successfully restore her inner strength and control. I need to help her with her relapse issue by teaching the strong habits of turning and admitting to God. I want her to develop a daily routine of conducting regular prayers that she never misses because they will continuously remind her of the goal and objective. In other words, these activities will provide a multitude of benefits, such as spiritual awakening and routine stress-coping mechanisms.
Application of Knowledge to Action
My Dimension classes helped considerably to understand the importance of identifying the learning needs based on the specificity of the problems based on skills dimensional element. In the case of my patient, she is highly willing to improve her life, and she understands that it is the only path to happiness. Although relapses are common among addicts, it is important to dig deeper into the underlying issues causing the regression. Based on the client’s assessment and the material covered through the courses, I know that her childhood trauma led to depression and anxiety. Therefore, she is prone and vulnerable to life’s challenges because she perceives them more sensitively and harshly.
Throughout her life, she was not able to develop healthy approaches to cope with her problems, and thus, alcohol-filled the given gap. The lack of these capabilities explains why she relapses frequently and shortly after the decision was made. I must help her develop the coping mechanism through 12 steps, which is why my Constructive Action will revolve around the concept of God and prayer. Andy Farquharson’s book Teaching in Practice: How Professionals Can Work Effectively with Clients, Patients, and Colleagues and Alcoholics Anonymous: The Big Book were highly helpful in deepening my understanding of the client’s issues and Constructive Action goals.
I learned that the formation and maintenance of long-term therapeutic remissions in alcohol dependence dictate the task of studying the fundamental laws of its course. Psychopathological and pathophysiological manifestations during the period of remission are the target of therapeutic intervention, and their compensation is the main goal of treatment. However, carrying out therapeutic measures during the period of remission of alcohol dependence encounters several objective difficulties. The range of psychotherapeutic influences, especially about psychodynamic components, is limited due to the low level of the patient’s threshold for responding to emotional stress.
Description of the Citizens
Based on my knowledge and the classes, it is evident that my patient is in the later stages of her development. According to Eriksonian categorization, she is at her Ego Integrity and Despair stage (Dezutter et al., 2020). A person usually spends time contemplating the accomplishments and builds integrity to conclude if he or she led a successful or unsuccessful life (Westerhof et al., 2015). One of the main issues with the 12 steps is the fact that sometimes clients identify themselves as agnostics or atheists, which can be perceived as a problem for them because the approach revolves around God (Wilson, 2002). However, in my client’s case, she is religious and believes in the Lord, and was highly surprised that the combatting process will be focused on prayers. Therefore, her cultural background is Christian American, with her individual learning needs being centered on eliminating the occurrence of a relapse.
Conclusion
In conclusion, one should be aware that it is important to fully assess and understand the need of the patient to develop an effective teaching plan. My Constructive Action will primarily focus on my client’s relapse issues, which stem from her inability to cope with stress and life’s challenges without alcohol consumption or substance abuse. Therefore, it is critical to implement 12 steps program with the sole focus on God and prayers, which will be the replacement for the patient’s coping approaches.
References
Dezutter, J., Toussaint, L., & Dewitte, L. (2020). Finding a balance between integrity and despair: A challenging task for older adults in residential care. Journal of Adult Development, 27, 147-156.
Farquharson, A. (1995). Teaching in practice: How professionals can work effectively with clients, patients, and colleagues. Jossey-Bass.
Westerhof, G. J., Bohlmeijer, E. T., & McAdams, D. P. (2015). The relation of ego integrity and despair to personality traits and mental health. The Journals of Gerontology, 72(3), 400-407.
Wilson, B. (2002). Alcoholics Anonymous (4th ed.). Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.