Attitudes And Beliefs

One of the major concepts in addiction counseling is about “tolerance” and individual progression from use to abuse. Please describe your understanding of how tolerance as defined by the industry helps us to comprehend a client’s progression from use to abuse? In the case described on page 90, does this client’s history reflect increased tolerance?

Approximately 250 words.  include a minimum of two citations and two references.

CASE STUDY

The background of this client follows: He is a 63-year-old Caucasian male. He is currently financially stable with an income exceeding $250,000 annually. He has worked for 30 years in the oil and gas industry. He has been married for 35 years and has two married children, five grandchildren, ages 5 to 17 years old. He has provided minimal information regarding his family of origin. The presenting issue of this client is polysubstance abuse. He is physiologically dependent on opiates as a result of taking medication as originally prescribed by his medical doctor for pain management. Prescriptions include hydrocodone, Oxycodone, and fentanyl. Along with abusing these meds daily for 13 years, the client has been a regular user of cocaine. In fact his cocaine habit at times affected his family’s economic stability. He was referred by his employer for treatment with the goal of total abstinence as a condition for continued employment. Topics that immediately need to be explored include his use/abuse of cocaine, use of narcotics, the ethics of misusing drugs prescribed for pain management, withdrawal issues, brain damage, and treatment strategies. Other pertinent information includes level of responsibility, degree of denial, attitude toward treatment, family support, methods of treatment, and severity of brain damage.