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Name the Stage of Change for this client and if not in the Action Phase, how could you motivate this client to engage treatment?
Ms. Clark is in the preparation action stage. She is committed to making change and thinking about ways to stop drinking so much. She doesn’t want to quit all together but will if that’s what it took. She prefers some medicine from Dr. Seal to help with anxiety in order to start cutting back. She mentioned it would be nice for her to have someone to talk to as well. I could motivate the client to engage treatment by sending her back to Dr. Seal to see if he wants to prescribe anything right away or wait. Knowing she is more willing to cut back if she has medication, I would encourage her to set up an appointment with a talk therapist first and try to get a few sessions in before deciding or not that medicine is a good idea. I would give her a therapist she could get set up with right away.
Barsky (2006) says, “A client could be an individual, family, group, organization, or community,” (p. 117) and provides some guidelines for you to consider when making this determination. Using these concepts of your reading, who would you define as the client? Justify your answer with the readings/lecture and information in the video. (This reading is located in Module 3 if you want a refresher.)
The client is an individual. Based on Barsky (2006), one determines who the client is by asking 5 questions. Summing up the 5 questions would be, Who is willing, Who is required by law, which individuals are necessary, who needs to participate in assessment, and who is the worker competent and able to work with (Barsky, 2006). Ms. Clark is being seen for herself. She is the only person willing to work with the social worker. She is the only one participating in the assessment. She is not required by law but willingly coming on her own.
As you envision this client, what resources would you use to develop an initial assessment? Who else would you want to reach out to for additional information, with client permission?
As I envision the client, I would use the CAGE screening tool to develop my initial assessment. It is a simple 5 question screening that would give me an idea of where my client is at (Mack et al., 2016). Knowing my client wants a prescription drug, I would also have her take the Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scale (AASE) To see if she has a high chance of not being tempted to drink as much as she is while taking a prescription medication (DiClemente et al., 1994). It would show me how much she is tempted and how well she could abstain. I would reach out to a psychotherapist who can do talk therapy and if that therapist sees the needs for medication, then to get in contact with a psychiatrist.
Mack, A.H., Brady, K. T., Miller, S.I., & Frances, R. J. (2016). Clinical Textbook of Addictive Disorders (4th ed.). Guilford Press: New York.
DiClemente, C. C., Carbonari, J. P., Montgomery, R. P., & Hughes, S. O. (1994). The alcohol abstinence self-efficacy scale. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 55(2), 141–148. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsa.1994.55.141
What strengths does this client (individual, family, group, organization, or community) possess that can be mobilized to gain help and healing?
The strengths of the client are that she is highly motivated. She is willing to put in the work. Ms. Clark recognizes that she is drinking more than she would like and that it could be a potential problem. She is aware of her anxiety and stress and really wants help to alleviate the anxiety. She is thinking about her children and her job and she wants to continue to be a good mother and provider for her family. She is willing to do what it takes to get better.