Solution-Focused Therapy Essay
Assignment 4
After completing this module, you will be able to do the following:
- Understand the structure of individual sessions.
- Understand the concept of Agency practice..
- Recognize when clients are inappropriate for Group Services.
- Know how to provide case management Services.
- Understand what to do in private practice.
- Assess the level of acceptable risk.
- Know the difference between abstinence and controlled use.
- Understand the individual skeleton.
- Know how to determine when services are finished.
- Understand completed treatment plans.
- Know when no reported concerns within the Client’s system occur.
- Know how to evidence the lack of a problem.
- Recognize when the elements that put the client at high risk are resolved.
- Know the techniques of relapse or child safety plan.
- Assess change over 90 days.
Overview
Module four explores when and how case management and other individual services are used in the field of substance abuse treatment, and how these same services can be effectively provided utilizing solution-focused brief therapy.
- Solution-Focused Substance Abuse Treatment: Chapter 5
- Substance Abuse Treatment: Chapters 5 and 6
- Discuss how to assess the level of acceptable risk.
- What do you view as the pros and cons of telehealth (web-based and telephone) counseling?
- Explain the importance of individual treatment and case management as integral parts of good client care in the substance abuse field.
- Describe the basic tenets for assisting the clients using the solution-focused therapy for each of the different clinical settings. Describe the advantages of each therapeutic setting and explain the characteristics of the individuals each setting benefits the most.
- Explain the difference between abstinence and controlled use.
- Explain how to determine when services are finished from both the Solutions-Focused approach and in-patient treatment perspectives.
- Explain how to evidence the lack of a problem in Solutions-Based counseling versus traditional outpatient services.
1-2 questions 100 each=200 words
3-7 questions 200 words = 1000 words
Total for Order 3 = 1200 words
with 2 references from American Psychological Association
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Also to be referenced
9780826195784 Substance Abuse Treatment: Options, Challenges, and Effectiveness
by Sylvia Mignon MSW PhD
9780789037237Solution Focused Substance Abuse Treatment
by Teri Pichot , Thorana S Nelson, et al.
Solution
Solution-Focused Therapy Essay
Question One
According to Pichot and Smock (2009, Chapter 5), risks are involved when therapists work with clients. Nevertheless, clients who need substance abuse treatment services are predisposed to elevated risks of accidents, overdose, suicide, homicide, and many other issues. Pichot and Smock (2009) further indicate that counselors can decrease the risks of working with these clients by utilizing standardized testing, formal evaluation, and external evidence such as urine screens. Pichot and Smock (2009, Chapter 5) state that counselors can determine the level of risk that they are willing to accept. The authors further suggest that counselors can control the risk level through two methods. These methods entail choosing a client who appears to be at a decreased risk (with minimal co-occurring disorders) coupled with the minimal external environment or using formal documentation. Evaluation and screening procedures will ensure that needed evidence that quality care was given should it suffice.
Question Two:
According to Mignon (2014, Chapter 6), e-therapy is a form of web-based therapy that entails the use of email and other electronic technologies that offer services to individuals who cannot receive therapy in other ways and those who live in remote areas. This type of therapy offers online screening tools, social support, and health education. I believe that the significant pros associated with web-based therapy are that it might be effective cognitive-behavioral therapy since studies suggest that online therapy is just as effective as face-to-face therapy in reducing problems such as gambling behaviors (Mark et al., 2019). Nevertheless, Kocsis & Yellowlees (2018) assert that web-based therapy is a better option for remote access, convenient, available, accessible for people with physical limitations. The treatment approach is more approachable.
On the other hand, Cherry (2021) asserts that web-based counseling pr telehealth counseling can be unreliable in terms of confidentiality and privacy issues since some of the information transmitted online can be leaked. Also, she asserts that telehealth counseling can be restricted since some states do not allow “out-of-state providers. Furthermore, Kocsis & Yellowlees (2018) conclude that telehealth counseling lacks response to crucial situations, inappropriate to severe psychiatric problems, overlooks body language, and makes legal and ethical codes difficult since it eliminates geographical restraints.
Question Three
First, Mignon (2014, Chapter 6), individual therapy is one of the best options for people who are anew in recovery. In this type of therapy, the client can locate an addiction therapist in multiple ways. For those with insurance covers, they contact the insurance company to find a suitable addiction counselor. Individual treatment is a crucial part of when it comes to substance abuse cases. Case in point, since these sessions are characterized by a week-long program with 50 minutes each session with a counselor discussing the road to recovery, people who are new to the counseling process find it viable. Pichot and Smock (2009, Chapter 5) assert that individual treatment and case management are the most integral parts of good client care for substance abuse treatment approaches. As such, the authors argue that whether a client is counseled or treated through an agency setting or a private practice, the solution-focused counselor uses those same basic tenets of assisting the clients in envisioning and working from a place in which the problem is resolved in the long term.
Nevertheless, case management provides a myriad of activities that the counselor completes on behalf of the clients, such as a treatment plan and progress review. These activities entail correspondence with the referral sources and other health professionals within the client’s system. Arguably, individual sessions and case management procedures are the most relevant aspects of counseling since there is a direct conversation with the client. Since they are conducted from a solution-focused counsellor stance, the counselor can address clinical issues during the interaction.
Question Four
According to Pichot and Smock (2009, Chapter 5), clients need individual therapy services, other need case management services and planning for treatment. Some might require legal involvement as well as seek services from individual therapists. As such, solution-focused counselors should become conversant in applying these basic tenets to individual services and case management. Pichot and Smock (2009, Chapter 5) assert that these settings entail individual sessions, agency practice, and private practice. Individual sessions entail services conducted by a therapist with one client. As such, it involves the provision of therapy sessions and case management crisis counseling. Individual sessions are advantageous since these services are offered for various reasons when working within an agency setting compared to private settings. Pichot and Smock (2009, Chapter 5) argue that in an agency setting, the client’s first evaluation is conducted on an individual basis, and most of these services (following evaluation and intake) are offered within this setting for three reasons; when a client is inappropriate for group therapy to initiate treatment programs and review intervention progress, and offer case management services. With an agency setting, clients can save costs and have quicker access to treatment services. With private practice, the solution-focused therapist aligns with the systemic model and includes everyone within the “client’s system where treatment seems to be less complex and involves the client and the respective family” (Pichot & Smock, 2009, Chapter 5).
Question Five
Pichot and Smock (2009. Chapter 5) explain that when a counselor works with a client in a private practice setting, they can utilize solution-focused brief therapy in a more recognizable fashion. Abstinence and controlled use, in this case, can be explained in terms of agency setting and private practice. As such, Pichot and Smock (2009, Chapter 5) argue that since clients in a private setting have rarer external systems involved, such as probation and welfare, they will be able to make decisions without considering the many external factors elements in an agency setting. Alternatively, the client will more likely be involved in external systems such as child welfare and probation in an agency setting. The agency will most often determine if abstinence is needed so that the client can comply with the treatment.
Nevertheless, when counselors work with low-risk clients, especially in private settings, the clients themselves will determine if they can use a substance in a controlled manner. At the same time, others are clear that they cannot use it anymore. As such, the significant difference between abstinence and controlled use of substances in therapy lies in the decision of both the therapist and the client. Abstinence is viable in agency settings where the client is faced with external elements. At the same time, controlled use is usually utilized in private practice settings and low-risk clients who hold prosocial values and can control themselves. Nevertheless, Pichot and Smock (2009) advise therapists that regardless of the client’s decision, they should consider everyone within the client’s system inclusive of the community when they define success to ensure that decisions such as abstinence and controlled use are lasting and realistic.
Question Six
Pichot and Smock (2009, Chapter 5) argue that it is vital that a counselor must set a guideline to determine when the client has completed therapy. The authors assert that some studies reveal a misperception heled by professional therapists that “more is better,” hence putting a client in more sessions when necessary. Pichot and Smock (2009, Chapter 5) suggest that regardless of the setting, agency setting, or private practice, 6 factors should be taken into consideration to determine if a client has effectively accomplished the substance abuse treatment goals relative to the quality care standards. The authors suggest that a counselor can determine when treatment plans are completed, no reported concerns within the client system are apparent, and there should be “evidence that there is a lack of problem” (Pichot and Smock, 2009, Chapter 5). Additionally, the elements that put the client at high risk should have been resolved to determine that the client has completed the treatment.
Furthermore, the authors assert that relapse is part of learning behavior and human in nature. Therefore, a therapist can only determine that the client has finished therapy is relapse and child safety plans are completed. Last, the use of evidence-based research is crucial, and the 90—day rule has shown that clients are at a high risk of relapse. Both the authors and the NIDA (2018) agree that addiction is a complex issue. Therefore, solution-focused “treatment frequency should be a fluid process that increases when challenges arise and decrease when the client is doing well” (Pichot & Smock, 2009, Chapter 5). Therefore, the 90-day rule should be the last factor in determining if therapy is complete and successful.
Question Seven
Pichot and Smock (2009, Chapter 5) assert that the degree of evidence required to corroborate an issue that has been resolved varies significantly depending on the seating. Case in point, a private setting primarily utilizes solution-based counseling, access to methods, or proves that the client is substance-free and minimal. As such, a counselor will only accept cases in which verbal proof is sufficient and refer all the others to an agency setting. Pichot and Smock (2009, Chapter 5) assert that “verbal evidence is neither sufficient nor appropriate” when it comes to an agency setting where clients have lost trust if others are involved in the legal system and have put others in a harm’s way. In agency settings primarily used in traditional outpatient services, there should be other evidence such as random urine tests, hair tests, breathalyzers, eye scans, and other scientific tests to show that the client is substance-free. Regardless of solution-based counseling or traditional outpatient services, the evidence must be consistent and valid for a minimum of 30 days (Pichot & Smock, 2009, Chapter 5). Traditional outpatient services tend to include abstinence in their treatment plan. Pichot and Smock (2009, Chapter 5) suggest that the ideal period of abstinences should be long enough to satisfactorily demonstrate that the client in question can use the skills for a period during which the stressors and other naturally occurring events occur. Nevertheless, this period to collect evidence can be adjusted to two or three months, depending on the level of risk.
References
Cherry, K. (2021, October 21). The Pros and Cons of Online Therapy. VeryWellMind. https://www.verywellmind.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-online-therapy-2795225
Kocsis, B. J., & Yellowlees, P. (2018). Telepsychotherapy and the Therapeutic Relationship: Principles, Advantages, and Case Examples. Telemedicine and E-Health, 24(5), 329–334. https://doi.org/10.1089/TMJ.2017.0088
Mark, Shi, J., Elton-Marshall, T., Hodgins, D. C., Sanchez, S., Lobo, D. S., Hagopian, S., & Turner, N. E. (2019). Internet-Based Interventions for Problem Gambling: Scoping Review. JMIR Mental Health, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.2196/MENTAL.9419
Mignon, S. I. (2014). Substance Abuse Treatment: Options, Challenges, and Effectiveness. Springer Publishing Company.
NIDA. (2018, January). Principles of Effective Treatment. National Institute on Drug Abuse. https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/principles-effective-treatment
Pichot, T., & Smock, S. A. (2009). Solution-Focused Substance Abuse Treatment. Routledge: Taylor and Francis.