Benjamin's Case Study Alcohol Abuse

He also seemed confident and showed an understanding of the seriousness of his medical problem. While the social worker can empathize with the client and has noticed some similarities in their backgrounds and life experiences, the client showed poor judgment in drinking and using alcohol to lower his stress. The counselor does not believe that counter-transference issues developed during the assessment. Patrick is a sixty-eight-year-old single, male.

AA member shares his experience more often than he gives advice. Madsen( 1974) refers to AA in terms of tools to aid in recovery from Alcoholism. (Zimberg, S, et al pg. 166)

All the signs of an alcoholic is a cause by depending on alcohol. Health issues can present with a long term of alcohol abuse, liver disease, cardiovascular, pancreatitis, cancer, etc. Families and friends are affected as well, and advice is not considered or taken when in denial. Facing sobriety is not easy for most people to handle and I feel help is needed, and finding the proper treatment can be challenging for an alcoholic. Mrs. C. Torres lived a rough life and her addiction started at the age of 9 when her grandmother sends her to store to buy cigarettes and her daily drink, that was when she decided to have her first taste of alcohol.

Alcohol, used in both solemn and joyful times, can be dangerous when one becomes dependent upon it. The medical term for this condition is called alcohol dependence, or alcoholism. This condition is clearly and horrifically displayed by Rex Walls in the novel The Glass Castle. Rex's alcoholism effects both him and his family very negatively. With signs of alcoholism being fairly clear-cut, it is easy to tell if one is truly an alcoholic.

The support group is an example of how community psychology effectively helps change individuals of illnesses achieve a similar outcome, as discussed in Chapter 8. During the session, there was a recitation of rituals and rules to follow for healthy recovery and acknowledge God as the force for improvement. I have chosen to attend to this particular group because it was different from a standard support group. It was solely focused on the women’s fight against alcohol abuse from college aged to senior citizens. This group shed light on women experiencing a disorder that is not often discussed or tolerated in today’s society because of the social stigma against men and women.

Society has left an invisible impact on how we perceive the college lifestyle as a whole. This ranges from the belief that all students are sleep deprived from staying up too late to finish their homework. Also the sociological acceptance that college is the place to party and drink every single weekend. Theirs a sociological point of view and how society has played a key part in underage drinking being accepted in college towns. Not just limited to the effects of alcohol on a student’s wellbeing; also, the short term and long term conditions that can arise from binge drinking.

Jeanette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, recounts Jeanette’s unusual childhood. Through her recollection, there are numerous examples of experiences she endures to progress through Erikson’s eight stages of Psychosocial development. With each chapter, the reader is able to trace her development from one stage to the next through stories of her childhood and adolescence. Each anecdote highlights the struggles of her early developmental stages which she inevitably overcomes to have a positive, successful adulthood. While recollecting her memories, she is able to come to terms with her dysfunctional past which is proof that she has successfully maneuvered through Erickson’s stages of development.

My initial perception of the members in the room is that some members may be shy to disclose their stories, but was amazed that everyone came forth in the room to discuss their shortcoming. Furthermore, I did not have any stereotypes perception about alcoholism since I am aware that alcoholism is a disease that affects the brain. My understanding about alcoholism was confirmed by the various client verbalization of their stories and problems associated with

The text book, The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy by Irvin D. Yalom with Molyn Leszcz begins with the preface of the fifth edition. In the preface, Irvin D. Yalom introduced Molyn Leszcz as his collaborator and how they met at Stanford University in 1980. He then discussed how they both worked hard collaboratively to combine old and new material to make this edition. Their goals for this edition were to prepare student therapists for the present-day workplace and to keep the current methods from decaying, so that students can gather wisdom and techniques of the field when they get the opportunity to utilize those methods as therapists. Yalom briefly talked about what each chapter in the text would discuss.

Phase One (Sessions 1 through 3) • The session 1 and 2 consists of the assessment of the client’s clinical problems and background information. Questions relate to her clinical problems, including (a) the nature of her problems (depression and difficulty with making decisions), (b) reason of seeking psychotherapy, and (c) previous attempts to deal with the problems. For the background information, the client’s histories are assessed in the areas of intimate/family relationship, educational/vocational activities, past history of psychological treatment, and physical condition. Session 3 primarily consists on the further functional assessment around her coping skills (e.g., avoidance) in the areas of interpersonal relationships. Phase Two

Alcohol is the best part of Putnam County. For many people, this statement is true. They believe that alcohol brightens their lives by bringing joy and fun times. However, the idea that alcohol improves people’s lives is inherently false.

Today, within the framework of psychoanalysis social identity problem dealt with in detail Erikson, interest in particular issues of the evolution of self-consciousness of man and the stages associated with the development of his identity. It has identified eight stages in the formation of a mature identity. The first four stages occur in infancy and childhood, the fifth stage of puberty, and the last three in adulthood, old age inclusive. In his works Erikson puts special emphasis on puberty, because then a transition from childhood to adulthood. What is happening at this stage is very important for the personality of an adult.

Our group topics were engaging and discussed personal matters that affected our lives. It is nice to have a sense of group cohesiveness, altruism and universality, but despite the closeness it does make one realize in the end that our problems are still ours alone. At the same time, it is good to have support and have others that resonate with your experiences and know that life is difficult and that it can be unfair (Yalom & Leszcz, 2005, p. 90). Conclusion In conclusion this semesters group therapy, has been a great learning experience to understand the therapeutic elements of the group.

Generativity versus stagnation is the seventh stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development theory. According to Erikson, this is the stage in which the individual presents himself with the question as to how his life can offer anything to the society/environment in which finds himself. This stage is found during middle age, closely between 40 and 65 years of age. This is the time when the adult individual will work toward a legacy, ensuring future recognition from society.

Smith informed staff the reason of herself referral for service is due to her rape incident when she hooked up with a guy she met at the bar where she was going to buy crack. Another reason Client is seeking for service is due to her daughter safety and protecting her daughter from the child’s father. Client report that she began drinking several times a week around the age of 13. She stated she started drinking heavily, when she felt depressed and that is an everyday situation. Jessica drinking became progressively worse over the years and she did not notice it was a problem until after she began using crack.