Question

Case Study

Jed Smith is a 38-year-old welder who came into the treatment center after being arrested for drinking and driving (DUI/DWI). His attorney has suggested that he quit drinking and enter treatment, at least until his trial, which is scheduled to occur in 2 months. Jed does not anticipate serving jail time, but he believes that treatment could strengthen his legal case. After his first arrest for DUI 2 years ago, he simply paid a fine and attended a special driver's education program for 6 weeks. Jed found the program to be a “waste of time.”

Jed has been married for 8 years and has two daughters, aged 8 and 6. He has had numerous arguments with his wife, Emily, concerning his drinking. He gets very angry and defensive when she confronts him about his heavy drinking and he asserts that he is not an alcoholic. He knows this is true because his father was an alcoholic and Jed says that he is not like his father. His father died as the result of a fight that occurred in traffic when he was drunk. Jed says that his father used to “beat the tar” out of him and his brother when he was drunk and that his father always belittled, taunted, and threatened their mother, whether he was drunk or sober. Jed references that his family is Irish and that it was cultural normal to drink and enjoy alcohol and that all of his family and relatives drink in excess.

Jed's work history is very good; he misses less than one day per year. He works the day shift on weekdays, putting in time-and-a-half on most Saturdays. He is well regarded by his supervisors and peers at work. He is fearful that his employer will find out about his treatment (it is being covered by his HMO), and that people at work will learn about the second DUI arrest.

Jed drinks with his buddies from the plant, and does not think that his drinking is any more than what they do. He was just “unlucky” and was caught doing what everyone else seems to get away with. Jed's drinking is very predictable: he drinks 8-9 beers on a weeknight. Several of these are consumed at the bar with friends, the remainder at home over the course of the evening. He usually falls asleep in front of the television. When he is not working on Saturdays, he often drinks several 12-packs between Friday and Sunday. A typical Saturday involves getting up at 10:00 a.m., playing soccer with friends, and going to the bar for the rest of the day and night. This pattern leads to arguments with Emily, who calls him a “lousy father.” At times, Jed has had unsettling episodes of being unable to recall what happened while drinking. He has commented to friends that “maybe I overdo it a bit.” Several times, he has attempted to cut down on his drinking, especially after the last DUI. He once attended a few AA meetings, but did not feel that AA was helpful: "It was listening to a lot of guys whining…" and he especially did not care for the prayers.

Despite these attempts, Jed has experienced increased consumption levels over the past 2 years. He admits that, as a result of the drinking, he has become increasingly estranged from his wife and daughters. Jed feels that his marriage has been basically good, but that he would not blame Emily for leaving him, the way things have been going lately. She will no longer sleep with him while he is intoxicated, which occurs regularly. She complains that the house is falling apart because Jed does not keep up with his chores. He believes that his marriage would become solid again, if he stopped overdoing the drinking, but he complains about her hassling him about the alcohol.

Jed is not close to his remaining family members. His mother is very religious and wishes Jed would see religion as a way out of his problems. His siblings live in other communities and they rarely get together. His wife and daughters regularly attend his mother's church, but Jed only attends on Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday.

Jed is distraught about having to remain abstinent in preparation for the trial. He has trouble getting to sleep without alcohol. He also “gets jumpy” when he tries to stay away from drinking, feeling “closed in or like he is suffocating.” Jed reports that he is not used to socializing without alcohol and alcohol helps him relax and be more social with people.

Jed is willing to go to AA meetings only because he knows they may be court ordered and it may be better for his legal case. He does struggle with the philosophy of AA. He does not like the spirituality part of the program and does not like when people talk about God.

He does believe that he can go to the bars with his friends and not drink. He does think that he can increase his sports activities to help him not drink although many of his friends who play also drink.

1. In this section, you will create a response plan to use when the client is faced with triggers and urges to lapse into using behavior. Complete the chart below and include coping strategies, client’s skills to redirect thoughts, and immediate actions to take before using substances.

List three people that the client identifies for a supportive network	List three new activities the client can use as they shift their focus away from the destructive activities involved in their addiction	List three actions or coping responses the client will utilize when a potentially negative pattern of behavior or high-risk situation emerges.

Answer 1

1. The three people the client identifies for a supportive network is one of his buddies from the plant, one of his supervisors and one of his peers at work.The buddies are the people, the client seems to spend some quality time while drinking. The buddies can be expected to support the client emotionally during his recovery. The client is not close to his family members. So, the people who can provide support apart from the buddies are his supervisors and peers. This is because the client is well-regarded by his supervisors and peers. So, they can be expected to provide emotional support to the client.

Meditation is physically and mentally beneficial, especially for addicts. It can serve as an alternative for a healthy lifestyle and living. A social support network is extremely important to provide emotional support to recovering individuals. The client can benefit from emotional support (that is, client's buddies, supervisors, and peers). Jed has a very good work history. This is evident from his absenteeism which is less than one day per year. He works the day shift on weekdays, putting in time-and-a-half on most Saturdays. So, what can keep Jed occupied or engaged is his work, which he almost never seems to attend. Work may help in keeping him away from drinking. Work is something he seems to like engaging in. Such an engagement can help in alleviating his addiction.

When a potentially negative pattern of behavior or high-risk situation emerges, the client can cope with it by using his immediately available support network. For this, the support network should be informed about the client’s needs to provide the client social and emotional support. The client should regularly visit the treatment center for the effective alleviation of his addiction. The client should be asked to exercise regularly. Exercise can help in coping effectively against addiction by regularly engaging the client in something constructive and developing healthy body. All the three coping resources will help in creating a “constructive routine life” will help in eliminating the habit of drinking.