Treatment of the Addicted Client Utilizing Rogerian Theory

Abstract

Addiction is defined by Goodman and Gilman (1980) as a pattern of behavior characterized by overwhelming involvement with using a drug, securing its supply, and a high tendency to relapse after quitting or experiencing withdrawal. Talbott (1989) defines addiction simply as illogical, compulsive drug use. It is conceptualized as the need to modify pain and the use of chemicals to achieve that end. Addiction is considered by many experts in the field to be one of the most difficult diseases to treat, given the fact that it attacks every system of the human body, as well as simultaneously altering an individual’s cognitive and affective capabilities (Cony & Cimbolic, 1985). Drug-dependence is now often described as the greatest threat to contemporary society. Dr. Robert Millman, director of the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Program at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, noted that with the inclusion of over-thecounter medications, few persons in the United States could be found who do not use some form of a psychoactive drug. Drug use and drug terminology have permeated our language, recreation, music, and reading materials. They have been woven into the fabric of Americana and now pose as the greatest health risk to the American people-if not to the world (Franklin, 1990). This paper focuses on demonstrating the need to treat addicted clients in a unique and individualized manner. Using the model of the client as a unitary human being as a premise of treatment, the Rogerian model of nursing can be applied to a deadly and costly disease-addiction-and its tenets used as a framework for intervention. The Phenomenon of Addiction Addiction is frequently described as a long, painful, and slow process (Carroll, 1985). The human toll of addiction is evident in every facet of the person’s existence. During prolonged drug dependence, emotions escalate, pain is magnified, and coping evolves into maladaptive patterns. Addiction is frequently described in terms of its physiological symptoms, but underlying this surface presentation is a plethora of emotions, including turbulence, rage, anger, and self-hatred. It is a complex disease, and physical manifestations are only a portion of the entire mosaic. The more difficult facets of treatment are likely to elicit a breakthrough of denial rather than a medical stabilization of physiological alterations. As the tentacles of addiction spread far and wide, the addict’s life becomes unmanageable. Personal relationships disintegrate, family support shatters, and personal health spirals downward, all of which potentially reinforce anhedonia, disorganization of ego strength, and diminished self-worth. The addicted individual is closely tied to the environment of hidher orgins, and this environmental link becomes one of the many foci in addressing treatment. The environment may be a “crackhouse,” a prostitution ring, or a loving home with the trappings of success. These commonalities are the spe