Social Work and its Effect on Addicts

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Sarah Wood

February 28, 2019

Abstract
Social Work and its Effect on Addict

This essay explores the roles social workers play in people's lives. Specifically, when

dealing with drug addicts and their families. This paper will examine the drug opioid epidemic

and how social workers can help. It will discuss how many people misuse the drug and how easy

it is to become addicted to it. Social workers play a vital role in people's lives. When dealing

with addicts and their families, some tactics and strategies work better than others. This paper

will mainly discuss what actions social workers take and how they can make an impact on one

family or tackle a bigger issue such as the epidemic. The purpose of this paper is to appreciate

social workers, as well as really grasp what they do for other people.

Introduction
Social Work and its Effect on Addict

Social work is the profession that treats individuals, families, groups, and communities in

efforts to enhance social functioning and overall well-being. This division of social work

requires skill and experience when working with addicts. Social workers are leaders in the

substance abuse disorder field and often work in substance abuse disorder education, prevention,

assessment, treatment, or resource coordination and case management roles. In many cases,

families who deal with this issue do not have anyone in their corner. This is where a social

worker comes in to play. It is their job to help people and make their lives better. Social workers

have the authority and some power that most people in these situations do not have. They will

always have their clients best interest. Social workers are in high demand, especially with the

opioid epidemic. Social workers are important and play a vital role in addicts recovery including

their family because of their skills and resources to help improve an addicts quality of life.

Social work is meant for anyone who enjoys helping people and impacting lives. This

profession can be difficult to manage emotions when dealing with people who suffer from

substance abuse and their families. This career brings meaning, diversity, action, and satisfaction

to someone within this profession. There are many areas of social work one can choose. A

mental health and substance abuse social worker will have many tasks with little time. This field

deals with people who have disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, as well as

people who suffer from substance abuse. To become this type of social worker, it requires a

master's level of education. When focusing on substance abuse most students will have an

opportunity to pursue a certificate in substance abuse as a part of the MSW program (Social

Work Licensure).

As the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act pushes for change in the fields of

health and behavioral health, social workers are given the opportunity to make structural changes
Social Work and its Effect on Addict

at many levels that will positively impact low-income clients with substance abuse disorder.

Social workers should seek specialized education and credentialing in substance abuse disorder

services, know how to help clients apply for health care coverage, and advocate for integrated

substance abuse treatment and health care programs and an expansion of Medicaid in their local

communities (McCabe 2016). Social workers are in high demand across the nation. Changes in

insurance coverage due to the Affordable Care Act increases the demand for social work

clinicians.

Prescription opioid use has become a crucial issue in public health in the United States.

Research done in the past has linked opioid misuse and mental health issues, “In 2015, more than

2 million persons had an opioid-related substance use disorder” (Chan 2018). The study

addresses how having someone in one’s family who uses non-medical prescription opioids can

cause distress and strains in relationships. The study included 38,775 adults. Results of this study

showed exactly how opioid misuse was associated with psychological distress. Another analysis

examined how adults who misuse opioids that have children in their household, distress levels

were even higher. When comparing to non-users the results of distress were very low. This study

is important for public health to take into account when considering how resources should

address opioid use within families. Social workers are imperative to serve adults who live

with/have children affected by this issue. They can play a vital role by screening, assessing, and

delivering mental health services for this at-risk population (Chan 2018).

Authorized opioid use often leads to long-term usage and possible misuse and addiction

in adults. Many people deal with chronic pain and opioids are a very common pain reliever

medication. Opioid medications can include codeine, morphine, oxycodone, and fentanyl, and

others. Opioid medications are very commonly abused in the United States. The abuse of this
Social Work and its Effect on Addict

drug can lead to high rates of overdose death, and people seeking treatment for opioid

dependency. The misuse of medications varies from being addicted. The misuse of a prescription

can be someone misunderstanding the instructions, self-medication, and compulsive use driven

by an opioid use disorder. Abuse of opioids can be used with no prescription, or for the feeling.

While the epidemic for opioid misuse is being looked at many different levels there is much

more to be done (Brady 2015).

There are many strategies social workers may use when involved in a substance abuse

disorder case. One strategy is, to begin with, an assessment. To effectively do this a social

worker will need to develop a therapeutic alliance with their client/patient to better understand

the role a substance plays in someone's life. The assessment also needs to include an

understanding of how ready the client wants to make a change. After a social worker collects this

information it then should be synthesized into a well thought out plan made to create short and

long-term goals their client wishes to met (Mancini 2012).

Motivational interventions can have a positive effect as well. Motivational interviewing

has been developed to single out motivation to change as a way to increase the probability that

an individual will lessen their substance use and explore additional treatment. “Several recent

meta-analyses and empirical reviews highlight the strong existing evidence that brief

motivational interventions are effective”, therefore social workers are able to identify individuals

that would be suitable for brief motivational interviews (Ilgen 2012). Cognitive behavioral

therapy (CBT) consists of many interventions that consider how learning processes are included

in evolving and maintaining unfit thought patterns, behavioral and emotional reactions. These

processes help interventions target the ending or reduction of substance abuse. This system can
Social Work and its Effect on Addict

be very valuable to social workers. It is very effective for many problems, especially substance

abuse (Granillo 2012).

Methods

Travis Hales works to better the quality of life, specializing in working with addicts. He

is highly qualified when it comes to the field of social work. He received his doctorate from the

University of Buffalo. Hales does research on behavioral health service effectiveness,

implementation science, and trauma-informed systems. When asked to define social work, he

defined it as a group of people who have a strong desire to help underserved and

underrepresented populations. He believes to become a social worker one needs to have a certain

grit to handle the amount of stress that comes with the job. Hales specifically works with addicts

and their family because he has had personal experience with family members, and he wants to

make an impact.

Hales wanted to use critical thinking and skills he created in college to make a bigger

impact. When asked about the role of social workers in addicts lives, Hale said the most

prominent role is indirect practice. This is when a patient may enter a rehab facility and there is a

social worker there for them. Most agency’s need to have a social worker who creates an

intervention for the client. The social worker will also work with the family especially when

adolescents are involved. In many cases, there are a lot of behavioral components that can be

learned or passed down from generation to generation. Hales does research and evaluation to

help people who suffer from addiction which helps in how services are delivered and how

agencies are designed. This is a very important factor. He works to make social workers, and

agencies better so they can better help their clients. If a agency is not doing the best then this is

where Hales would step in.

Social Work and its Effect on Addict

Hales knows of many different techniques social workers use today when working with

people who suffer from addiction. Addiction very rarely comes into play due to isolation. It

usually comes up when someone has suffered from a certain experience or many experiences.

“Over 90 percent of women in inpatient treatment settings for substance use have a history of

childhood sexual abuse”, showing how addiction is usually the result of a trauma or experience

one has gone through. Treating the whole person and not just the addiction has become much

more common because many people who suffer from it suffer from other things as well such as

anxiety, depression, and PTSD. There is usually a root cause that a social worker can get to, that

leads a person to use drugs, and maybe get addicted to depending on the circumstances.

Motivational interviewing is also a very popular approach. This type of intervention is done in a

supportive manner and it helps one become motivated to change. It can also prepare patients and

clients for further counseling or research. It is very important to involve the family in the

treatment process. The family can carry stress with them, sometimes even similarities. Social

workers do this to educate the family on what addiction is, how to help and prevent it.

Lastly, Hales shares an experience from his career. He did a research study to help

agencies become trauma-informed, have a safer, and more trustworthy atmosphere amongst staff

and staff with clients. He conducted a large project for two years. He saw a 35% increase in

client retention and treatment. These results show that more clients are staying. Hales believes

social work needs more research-based work. This was a major breakthrough. Agencies can

improve drastically with some more work focused on research.

Results
Social Work and its Effect on Addict

Overall, this research confirms that social workers play a vital role in addicts lives. This

information was very useful when considering the social work field as a career. The research and

the interview tie well together. Both prove how much work social workers do for their clients.

The primary research focuses on successful approaches and techniques, as well as the importance

of their role in addicts treatment and recovery. Hales focuses on the work done in the

background. Hales focuses on research and how that can help agencies who help clients.

It is imperative to understand an addict. Many social workers who work with addicts do it

because they have experience with this issue. It is important to know that substance abuse is a

mental health disease. Social workers know this, to treat their clients in the best way possible.

One must treat their client as a whole and not just the addiction. Social workers and their

agencies use many different techniques to better help their clients. Motivational interviewing is a

popular and effective one, “motivational interviewing is one of the techniques that can be backed

up by its results” (Hales). This came up in the primary research as well as the interview. It is

difficult to get anyone to do anything when they do not want to. This difficulty occurs commonly

in addicts and their recovery. If one is not motivated to change, they will not. Motivational

interviewing gets an addict to the first step, wanting to change.

The addicts family plays an important role as well. Addiction can cause psychological

distress in a family. Addiction can be passed down when adolescents are involved, “addiction is

classified as a family disorder” (Hales). If one continually watches a parent struggle with

substance abuse disorder there are chances children will go through the same thing. They make it

a point to involve the family, “Social workers are on the front-line among providers that serve

adults who live with children and adolescents affected by this crisis, and can play a critical role
Social Work and its Effect on Addict

in screening, assessing, and delivering mental health services for this at-risk population” (Chan

2018). Social workers will educate the family on addiction, resources, and prevention.

This research verifies the importance of a social worker and some of the techniques and

skills that could better their work. Many people do not understand addiction, and how much of

an issue it is. An addict needs serious help. Social workers help them recover in many ways.

They help their client as a whole by treating the addiction, helping the family, and help to

improve the environment and circumstances they are in.

Conclusion

This paper sheds light on why social workers are so important in a addicts recovery. It

also shows how social workers help, and the effective techniques they use today. Addicts need

someone in their corner who understands. Social workers work very hard and do everything they

can to improve someone's life and understand what they are going through. They can do

research, be a hands-on, advocate, and educate. The understanding of an addict would not be as

known without social workers. Their goal is to better the quality of life. When focusing on

addiction it can be very difficult yet rewarding.

References

Chan, K., & Trant, J. (2018). The Relationship of Psychological Distress and Living with
Children and Adolescents for Adult Non-medical Prescription Opioid Users. Child and
Adolescent Social Work Journal, 35(4), 391–405. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-018-
0534-8

McCabe, H., & Wahler, E. (2016). The Affordable Care Act, Substance Use Disorders, and
Low-Income Clients: Implications for Social Work. Social Work, 61(3), 227–233.
https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/sww030

(T. Hales, Social Work, March 15, 2019)

Social Work and its Effect on Addict

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