This reflective account is towards a twenty-year-old girl who has been troubled with drug addiction. She is from Italy but currently lives in Slough in the United Kingdom. She moved to the U.K six months ago and has been staying with her sister in London. She has a problem with heroine addiction. She has been through rehab and was clean for some time. This changed when she moved in with her boyfriend in Slough. She started using drugs again, but now with the influence coming from her boyfriend. She had a job in London but gave it up when she moved. In slough, she has no friends and spends most of her time indoors. She is experiences cases of domestic violence from her boyfriend when he starts using drugs. She cannot leave him because she does not have a job and a place to stay. The police have been to the house because of the violent cases but she refuses to press charges against her boyfriend who threatens to throw her away on the streets. This is a reflective account of client k in assisting her to safeguard her health through quitting drugs and safe ways of administering them since she has been putting her life at risk because of the way she injects herself, especially on the neck. She also does it alone and it is important if she does it in the presence of someone else so that she can be helped in case of an overdose (Wakefield, 2001, p.68).
The steps used to assist her include use of a motivational interview. This person centred approach is aimed at strengthening her motivation for change that is positive. This is to stop her drug use and encourage her to go back to rehab, find a job, and live a safe and independent life. This motivational interview was the main framework and practice that is used in this piece of work. I first explain what the effects that these drugs have on her and what they would continue to do to her as well as her partner. Drugs affect the brain and make one make very poor judgements and this increases the chances of taking part in risky behaviours like violence, and driving under the influence. Drugs also cause many health problems such as liver diseases, heart diseases, cancer and a major problem of drug addiction that causes extreme dependence on the drugs (Tiffany, 1993.p.231). These problems fuel more problems such as being fired due to lack of commitment and concentration, and reduces a person’s productivity, doing bad in school and also problems with the law as most of these drugs are illegal. Drugs increases the risk of getting sexually transmitted infections and even HIV/AIDS as it diminishes a sense of perception towards personal safety and one becomes irresponsible. Explaining these effects to client k provided information on how the drugs have been affecting her life would and how they would continue if she continues abusing them (Tiffany, 1993.p.231).
Drugs are usually classified into three classes; and this is according to the effects they have on an individual. They include class A, class B, and class C. Class A includes drugs such as heroine, magic mushrooms, ecstasy, and cocaine. Class B includes drugs such as codeine, synthetic cannabinoids, cannabis and amphetamines. Class C includes drugs that are considered as tranquilizers such as anabolic steroids, ketamine, and valium. Class A drugs are the most harmful of all the classes’ possession will give a person the longest prison sentence of more than seven years plus a fine. Possession of class B drugs also results to serious implications with imprisonment of more than five years plus a fine. Possession of class C drugs leads to imprisonment of up to two years plus a fine (Ashton, 2012, p.162).
With the use of the motivational interview, I explained the various effects of these drugs but also motivated her and encouraged her as well. This was through explaining the benefits that would advantage her if she stopped using drugs. Her biggest influence was her current boyfriend. She had stopped using drugs and had joined a rehab centre before she met him then she relapsed. The drug use in her relationship with her boyfriend has become violent and this is a very big risk to her. She should therefore, end her relationship with him and go back to rehab. This would even make it easier for her to find a good job as she would be clean and more focused. She would be able to earn an honest living, be independent, and have a much better healthier and happy life.
Through this reflective journal, evidence about the above situation was seen through observations. Such observations include the fact that she was an addict. After having a relapse, she then moved in with her current boyfriend and this magnified her addiction. Another observation made was the fact that she had no place to live and she is dependent on her boyfriend for shelter. She perseveres even with domestic violence to safeguard her supply for the drugs and also shelter. These observations gave successful evidence as a result of the compliance with the standards of proficiency 14.2. This standard involves the selection of assessment tools and using them appropriately. For this case, the most appropriate tools of assessment included going through her health records to determine her health status, reviewing her responses and answers during the interview to identify trends and solutions and the main causes. It complied with the professional capability framework, and specifically the third domain of diversity in terms of the client’s identity that was encompassed by various different factors her economic status, culture, her life experiences, and more. The evidences were also attributed to the compliance with the ethics code 1, which involved actions that catered best for the service user’s best interest. As for this case, it was client k where her best interests included better health because of stopping drug usage, finding a job, and have a financially independent life. Work products used during this encounter include use of questionnaires and interviews. They are the most appropriate as they get first-hand information from the client and provide a good avenue for selecting and using appropriate assessment tools according to the standards of proficiency. They enabled me to gather various different information that was diverse and multi-dimensional. This is in order to assess all the angles possible to provide effective solutions to her problem that would be sustainable according to the professional capability framework 3. These work products provided client k the chance to explain her situation as she knows it best and this complied with the ethics code, which involves acting in the best interest of client k. Professional discussion included the level of the effects the drugs had on her and the best possible measures to take. The most appropriate would involve her individual effort in solving her problems, but with close guidance from professionals. Client k showed positive feedback throughout the whole process with efforts to go back to rehab and leave her current boyfriend. Close monitoring progress was put in place to monitor and evaluate her progress.
This reflective account of client k’s situation is one that was aimed at helping her through her drug experience. This was made successful through compliance with the available standards such as the standard of proficiency and the professional capability framework that provides guidelines that facilitate for a high level of professionalism and at the same time, produce the most appropriate results that would provide sustainable solutions and solve the completely the problematic situation. For client k, the problematic situation was drug abuse. She had tried to control it but relapsed when she met her current boyfriend. She became dependent, jobless, and abused by her boyfriend when she is under the influence. The cases of violence were the ones that brought about the necessary interventions in her life. It involved a social worker visiting her and trying to gather helpful information that would help her solve her problem by going to rehab and leaving her problem. The drugs were put her into health risks such as risks of overdose, she was unproductive; she did not have a job and entirely depended on her boyfriend who was abusive because he thought that she was still talking to her ex-boyfriend but could not press charges as he threatened to throw her out on the streets. It is clear that an intervention was mandatory for her to be saved from all these problems.
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