Prevention Strategies

Treatment programs cannot always be 100% effective, and many substance abusers relapse into drug abuse after days, months, or even years of sobriety. With the marginal success of treatment programs, it is even more important that people never start using drugs. As such, prevention strategies are of utmost importance.

Case Study Part I Aaliyah is a 25-year-old, single, Caucasian woman, who lives in an apartment with a friend. Aaliyah moved out of her parents' house at 18, after completing high school, to remove herself from her father's alcohol use. Aaliyah smokes cigarettes and drinks alcohol occasionally.

Aaliyah is dissatisfied with her current job. She works full time as an administrative assistant at a contracting company, but she is ready for a career change. Aaliyah has decided to return to school to pursue a degree in criminal justice. She will be working and taking classes at the same time, fitting her school schedule around her work schedule.

During her first session of school, Aaliyah notices that she is having difficulty staying awake to complete her schoolwork at night after a full workday. Aaliyah does not want her grades to fall, as her education is very important to her. However, she cannot afford to reduce her work hours. Her roommate makes Aaliyah coffee at night to help her stay awake. Soon, Aaliyah is drinking three or more cups of coffee a night to help her stay awake to complete her schoolwork.

Case Study Part II Aaliyah continues to struggle with balancing her work hours and her schoolwork. She has been drinking coffee to help her stay awake, but it is no longer working. She has an exam coming up and needs to stay up to study.

Aaliyah decides to take an amphetamine to stay awake to study for the exam. She promises herself that she will only take it this one time for the exam. The drug allows her to stay awake and alert while she is studying for the exam. She also feels that she is learning the material better as a result of the amphetamine. When the grades are in, Aaliyah receives an A on her work.

As the semester continues, Aaliyah turns to amphetamines more and more often to help her stay awake to complete her schoolwork. Soon, Aaliyah finds that one pill no longer keeps her awake as long as she needs.

She starts taking more than one pill at a time. She knows that taking amphetamines so often is not good for her health, and she finds she experiences an increase in headaches when she takes them, but she continues to take them because they are helping her be successful in school and at work.

Case Study Part III Aaliyah had been taking amphetamines regularly for two months and had been experiencing the physiological, psychological, and toxic effects of chronic amphetamine use. She had started drinking alcohol to help her sleep at night.

One morning she was driving to work and feeling the effects of a hangover from the night before. She was not concentrating on the road, and ran into the back of a car that had stopped in front of her. Luckily, none of the people involved in the accident was seriously injured.

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2 Case Study Details

This incident served as a "wake up call" for Aaliyah, and she decided to get help for her problems. However, because she is now using both amphetamines and alcohol, she is not sure what treatment program to enter.

Aaliyah would like to help other people avoid the troubles caused by drugs. She would like to give a presentation at her college to discuss her experiences and give students several prevention options, as well as ways to tell if their friends or loved ones have a drug problem.

Review the case study. Using your module readings and the Argosy University online library resources, research methods of increasing awareness about substance abuse and dependence.

Develop a PowerPoint presentation including the following:

Identify and describe two prevention strategies.

Explain ways of determining whether loved ones have a problem with drugs using the current DSM characteristics of substance use disorders.

Address the effectiveness of current treatment strategies in the United States.

Explain polysubstance abuse.

Address the possible treatment options and treatment difficulties for someone who is dependent on two substances.

Develop an 8-10-slide presentation (complete with speakers notes) in PowerPoint format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Be sure to include a title slide and a list of references.