Assignment: Assessing Clients With Addictive Disorders

Addictive disorders can be particularly challenging for clients. Not only do these disorders typically interfere with a client’s ability to function in daily life, but they also often manifest as negative and sometimes criminal behaviors. Sometime clients with addictive disorders also suffer from other mental health issues, creating even greater struggles for them to overcome. In your role, you have the opportunity to help clients address their addictions and improve outcomes for both the clients and their families. For this Assignment, as you examine the Levy Family video in this week’s Learning Resources, consider how you might assess and treat clients presenting with addiction.

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Learning Objectives

Students will:

Assess clients presenting with addictive disorders
Analyze therapeutic approaches for treating clients with addictive disorders
Evaluate outcomes for clients with addictive disorders

To prepare:

Review this week’s Learning Resources and consider the insights they provide.
Review the Levy Family video Episodes 1 through 5.

The Assignment

In a 2- to 3-page paper, address the following:

After watching Episode 1, describe:
- What is Mr. Levy’s perception of the problem?
- What is Mrs. Levy’s perception of the problem?
- What can be some of the implications of the problem on the family as a whole?
After watching Episode 2, describe:
- What did you think of Mr. Levy’s social worker’s ideas?
- What were your thoughts of her supervisor’s questions about her suggested therapies and his advice to Mr. Levy’s supervisor?
After watching Episode 3, discuss the following:
- What were your thoughts about the way Mr. Levy’s therapist responded to what Mr. Levy had to say?
- What were your impressions of how the therapist worked with Mr. Levy? What did you think about the therapy session as a whole?
- Informed by your knowledge of pathophysiology, explain the physiology of deep breathing (a common technique that we use in helping clients to manage anxiety). Explain how changing breathing mechanics can alter blood chemistry.
- Describe the therapeutic approach his therapist selected. Would you use exposure therapy with Mr. Levy? Why or why not? What evidence exists to support the use of exposure therapy (or the therapeutic approach you would consider if you disagree with exposure therapy)?
In Episode 4, Mr. Levy tells a very difficult story about Kurt, his platoon officer.
- Discuss how you would have responded to this revelation.
- Describe how this information would inform your therapeutic approach. What would you say/do next?
In Episode 5, Mr. Levy’s therapist is having issues with his story.
- Imagine that you were providing supervision to this therapist, how would you respond to her concerns?
Support your approach with evidence-based literature.

Note: The College of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements (available at http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/57.htm). All papers submitted must use this formatting.

By Day 7

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Submit Your Assignment by Day 7

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Week 6 Assignment

Week 6: Psychotherapy for Addictive Disorders

“A long-standing debate has roiled over whether addicts have a choice over their behaviors. The disease creates distortions in thinking, feelings, and perceptions, which drive people to behave in ways that are not understandable to others around them. Simply put, addiction is not a choice. Addictive behaviors are a manifestation of the disease, not a cause.”

–Dr. Raju Hajela, former president of the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine

A common misconception is that addiction is a choice, and addicts are often labeled as individuals who lack morals, willpower, or responsibility. However, addiction is a clinical disorder that must be treated with the support of a health care professional. Although many people who are exposed to potentially addictive substances and behaviors continue life unaltered by their experiences, some people are fueled by these experiences and spiral out of control. In your role as the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, you must be prepared to not only work with these individuals who struggle with addiction, but also help them and their families overcome the social stigmas associated with addictive behavior.

This week, as you explore psychotherapy for addiction, you assess clients presenting with addictive disorders. You also examine therapies for treating these clients and consider potential outcomes.

Photo Credit: Laureate Education

Learning Resources

Required Readings

Wheeler, K. (Ed.). (2014). Psychotherapy for the advanced practice psychiatric nurse: A how-to guide for evidence-based practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.

Chapter 7, “Motivational Interviewing” (pp. 299–312)
Chapter 16, “Psychotherapeutic Approaches for Addictions and Related Disorders” (pp. 565–596)

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Albrecht, U., Kirschner, N. E., & Grusser, S. M. (2007). Diagnostic instruments for behavioral addiction: An overview. German Medical Science Psycho-Social-Medicine, 4, 1–11. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2736529/

Fisher, M. A. (2016a). The ethical ABCs of conditional confidentiality. In Confidentiality limits in psychotherapy: Ethics checklists for mental health professionals (pp. 13–25). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/14860-002

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013c). Levy family: Episodes 1 [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 2 minutes.