Caring for the patient with substance abuse

W rite a maximum of two paragraphs (with two to three sentences each). Describe what you would do differently than your peer. Also explain something new that you learned from your peers post. These paragraphs should synthesize one to two pieces of research.

Medication Treatments and Psychotherapeutic Interventions

Before initiating treatment regimes for clients dealing with substance abuse, and addiction, it is important to ascertain their medical stability and clearance. Several medications are available to treat alcohol dependency, such as naltrexone, which blocks the opioid receptor, resulting in decreased heavy drinking, and alcohol craving (Boland et al., 2022). Another medication is acamprosate, an antagonist of N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors that helps in alleviating anxiety, mood swings, and insomnia symptoms that often accompany alcohol withdrawal (Boland et al., 2022). Additionally, disulfiram, which is an alcohol-sensitizing agent, causes sweating, flushing, tachycardia, and nausea when combined with alcohol. These effects help reduce the desire for alcohol, supporting abstinence (Boland et al., 2022).

While drugs are vital to treat substance abuse, and addiction, psychotherapy, inpatient and outpatient programs, as well as support programs such as alcoholics anonymous (A.A.) meetings should also be considered complementary. Psychotherapy, such as Cognitive Behavior Treatment (CBT), can help clients identify maladaptive behavior, and explore strategies for change. Such therapy session enables clients to function without relying on a lifestyle of alcohol abuse. The A.A. meetings are an opportunity to establish supportive relationships with those with similar experiences, promoting group support without taking alcohol (Boland et al., 2022).Methadone can be used to treat opioid abuse in outpatient and inpatient settings since it is regarded as a synthetic narcotic substitute for heroin. According to Boland et al. (2022), adherence to methadone prescription results in decreased heroin and illicit opioid use. Alternatively, buprenorphine, an opioid agonist, may be used as a monotherapy or combined with naltrexone to treat opioid abuse. Buprenorphine may be administered inpatient and outpatient, but should always be supervised when given outpatient due to the risk of withdrawal on the first dose (Boland et al., 2022). It is important always to incorporate psychotherapy, and support groups since they provide valuable components for a comprehensive treatment.