Background
Addiction to substances can be perplexing and difficult to comprehend. Despite the progressively unfavorable consequences, addicted people take drugs and alcohol obsessively. Psychiatrists and psychologists have created a variety of theoretical models to explain the paradoxical and complicated character of addictive behavior throughout the years. Various techniques have been taken in an attempt to understand why people get addicted to drugs. However, the models utilized by addiction treatment centers do not provide the activities necessary to address concerns of alcohol and drug misuse. As a result, addiction counselors must develop new models within the recovery field and focus on assisting clients in dealing with their addiction. In Connor’s case, his history of early instances of alcohol use throughout adolescence and military service put him into a risk group for behavioral-based alcoholism.
Application of Disease Models
It may be determined that Conner has an alcohol use problem based on the client’s behavioral patterns as examined above. The DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for alcoholism are also used to make this determination. To understand why people drink abusively, one must first understand their drinking habits and routines, as well as their attitudes about alcohol and themselves. This method is known as cognitive behavioral theory, and it was used to emphasize the client’s addiction during the analysis. Cognitive behavioral theory perceives alcoholism as a maladaptive approach for people to deal with issues and satisfy specific needs; a series of learned behaviors that can therefore be unlearned.
Such behaviors are taught through emulating role models or by experiencing the beneficial consequences of drinking, which include pain relief, increased sociability, and reduced anxiety, among other things. Individuals get reliant on alcohol as a preferred method of dealing with issues after experiencing repeated favorable benefits (Käll et al., 2020). These learned habits, according to this idea, can be changed through both cognitive and behavioral treatments. These therapies are appropriate for this client as they assist alcoholics in achieving and maintaining recovery.
The variables that lead to and maintain drinking are the focus of cognitive-behavioral methods to treating alcoholism. The practitioners focus on finding the most powerful antecedents for each addict, which might be social, psychological, or biological. These techniques help alcoholics break their addiction to alcohol by teaching them new ways to avoid and respond to the potential triggers. The said triggers are known to be a major obstacle in the recovery process as most alcoholics are not capable of avoiding them without the presence of proper support. This support is generally incorporated into the treatment and is known as coping skills training: a part of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) recommended to Connor. When it comes to treating alcoholism, CBT has two key components: functional analysis and skills training (Käll et al., 2020). A therapist will do a functional analysis to determine the relationship between the client’s drinking and its antecedents and consequences in this method. This understanding helps to define the function of drinking in a person’s life and provides a focus for efforts to change behavior.
Sociocultural Factors and the Disease Models
As a multi-layered phenomenon, alcoholism is associated with a variety of causes and correlating factors, the precise combination of which depends on an individual case. Culture, religion, family, and job are all factors that might impact a person’s conduct. As previously said, the family is the most important factor in determining the chance of having an alcohol addiction. Children who are exposed to alcohol misuse at a young age are more likely to develop hazardous drinking habits. This might have been the situation with Conner, who is stated to having begun drinking as a teenager in the company of peers. A person’s susceptibility to alcohol consumption may increase when they start a new job. It is during these moments that a person looks for new acquaintances and forms new ties with peers.
Furthermore, if a person is already interested in such activities, being around others who are also active in them reinforces the habit, making it difficult for them to stop even if they wanted to. Alcohol addiction is influenced by culture as well. For example, some cultures, such as Irish culture, are linked with heavy drinking. To begin with, Conner is Irish, which might explain his drinking habits. Second, he works in a construction business where drinking is tolerated to a great degree. It implies that the majority of his coworkers are alcoholics, and that they have encouraged his bad habits.
Various psychological variables have been shown to enhance the likelihood of compulsive drinking. Every person has their own method of dealing with problems. However, the ways in which children learn to cope with these emotions might have an impact on their conduct (Fosha et al., 2019). Individuals suffering from stress, sadness, and anxiety, as well as other mental illnesses, are more likely to develop an alcohol addiction (Käll et al., 2020). People use alcohol to repress sentiments as well as relieve the symptoms of psychological disorders in such situations. When someone has a stressful occupation, they may resort to alcohol to help them deal with the emotional baggage. Connor’s employment in the military fits the aforementioned pattern, especially since it correlated with his episodes of heightened alcohol abuse.
References
Fosha, D., Thoma, N., & Yeung, D. (2019). Transforming emotional suffering into flourishing: Metatherapeutic processing of positive affect as a trans-theoretical vehicle for change. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 32(3-4), 563-593.
Käll, A., Shafran, R., Lindegaard, T., Bennett, S., Cooper, Z., Coughtrey, A., & Andersson, G. (2020). A common elements approach to the development of a modular cognitive behavioral theory for chronic loneliness. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 88(3), 269.