Module 1 Transparencies and Resource Sheets
Roles and Attitudes-ATOD
Problem Prevention
Workshop Goal
Upon completion of the workshop, counselors should
have an increased under-standing of their role and attitudes toward
ATOD, knowledge about prevention and addiction, and the skills
to be able to detect and appropriately refer clients with ATOD
problems.
Module 1 Learning Objectives
- Actively participate in a learning community.
- Describe attitudes about ATOD that may affect
counseling.
- Identify strategies for changing attitudes about
ATOD.
- Describe the counselor's role in providing primary
prevention through healthy lifestyle behaviors and early identification
of ATOD problems.
Created by Manny Brandt, 1993 Copyright
Created by Manny Brandt, 1993 Copyright
Examples of Group Principles
- Begin/end on time
- Quiet please when hand goes up
- No smoking in meetings
- Present all sessions
- 1 talk at a time
- Okay to express yourself
- No put-down's
- Ask for what you want
- Option to pass
- Tell us if you leave
- Move from "I" to "we"
- Have fun!
Concept of Primary Prevention
- Aimed at healthy people and/or those at risk
for the development of problems associated with ATOD.
- Involves health promotion activities, education,
risk reduction, and risk avoidance.
- Involves strengthening healthy behaviors.
- Optimal outcome is an increase in people's capacity
for dealing constructively with crises and for taking steps to
improve their own lives.
Paradigm Shift
Implications for Providers
- Function as facilitators
- Give up power/control
- Takes more time
- Let go of expert role
- Humility
- Share successes
- Build/reinforce capacity
The Counselor's Role
- Prevention
- Early screening and identification
- Intervention and referral
Attitudes Toward Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Problems
Negative Attitudes Toward ATOD
- Alcohol or drug-dependent patients are the dregs of society.
- Alcoholics and addicts are self-destructive individuals who
deserve what they get.
- Drug or alcohol abuse is a social or legal problem, not a
medical one.
- Management of ATOD disorders is a complex job requiring special
skills that I do not have.
- Alcohol and other drug abusers are not interested in treatment.
- There is little chance of recovery from alcohol or drug abuse.
- Alcoholics and addicts cause intolerable harm to their families,
communities, and society and do not deserve our help.
- Helping alcohol and other drug abusers is an enormously time-consuming
job with little chance of success.
Effects of Negative Attitudes About ATOD
Negative attitudes influence
- Kinds of services available, offered, or recommended
- Access to services
- Perception of client's motivation
- Optimism for healing
- Level of empathy
- Number and quality of counselor/client interactions
Strategies for Changing Attitudes
- Awareness
- Understanding the disease concept
- Understanding the addiction process
- Letting go of judgments
- Working through feelings about personal/family ATOD problems
- Understanding the value of prevention
- Understanding one's personal value as a resource in combatting
ATOD problems
- Supporting healthy lifestyle behaviors as a first step in
prevention
- Recognizing that ATOD problem prevention is targeted to all
people, not just users
Imagery Discussion Questions
- What kind of person did you see?
- How many saw people you knew? How many saw strangers?
- Does anyone want to share the details of how this person appeared?
- How did you feel?
- How many imagined a drunk? How many imagined an addict?
- How many saw men?
- How many saw older or middle-aged people?
- What did you anticipate would happen?
- How did you feel?
- What did you decide to do?
- How did you complete the situation?