Post by isabellelawless on Jul 23, 2015 6:49:39 GMT
The Dual Diagnosis workshop was very interesting and helped me to expand my knowledge and awareness of the complications that people can experience. It also gave me a very good overall understanding of the services available and what the expectations are of clinicians are in the acute inpatient environment, those in community and those in drug rehabilitation services.
From the workshop it was interesting to recognise that there isn’t clear recognition of everyone’s responsibilities. In the inpatient environment it is the responsibility of nurse’s, not just social workers or doctors, to liaise with drug and alcohol services to assess the suitability for a client with dual diagnosis. Within my practice it will be difficult at first I suspect to understand what service to contact and the process for referral, but it will be important to link in clients with these services as it will hopefully aid their recovery process.
It was interesting to discuss the cycle of change, particularly the stage of relapse, and how that may present within mental health services. Relapse of mental deterioration could be due to a number of things; for some it’s caused by alcohol and drugs and for others it may be the deterioration of their mental state leading to the increased use of drugs and alcohol. It was clear from the workshop that at this stage it isn’t always clear how or who needs to treat the problem or even how to prevent further deterioration. For example, a client is deteriorating in mental state due to alcohol and drug use but is referred to community mental health services before potentially considering alcohol and drug services.
What was also informative was looking at different drugs and what street names they may be called. It would’ve been interesting to understand further about drugs – what effects they had and what amounts are lethal etc. – as this would give a greater understanding about how heavily clients have been affected and at what levels withdrawals may be experienced. Also if they are addicted and how heavily they are or not; for alcohol it is generally well understood however for drugs, particularly myself, it isn’t so clear.
In my practice I want to obtain a list of services to which I can refer clients who are interested in drug and alcohol rehab and support services. It will be good to have a more in depth understanding of the experience of clients who have a dual diagnosis and the stages of change. This is particularly helpful as there are different ways in which I can support someone depending on what stage they are at. For example if they are only in the pre-contemplation stage, then it would be useful to sensitively talk about why they may want to change and the positives and negatives involved; at this stage they are not ready to change and therefore it is important to not force or be overwhelming in providing support. Finally, I also have an increase in knowledge about drugs and the effects on clients. In my practice it will help me to understand clients, their needs and I wish to further educate myself on drugs and their effects on clients, so that I can better support them.
From the workshop it was interesting to recognise that there isn’t clear recognition of everyone’s responsibilities. In the inpatient environment it is the responsibility of nurse’s, not just social workers or doctors, to liaise with drug and alcohol services to assess the suitability for a client with dual diagnosis. Within my practice it will be difficult at first I suspect to understand what service to contact and the process for referral, but it will be important to link in clients with these services as it will hopefully aid their recovery process.
It was interesting to discuss the cycle of change, particularly the stage of relapse, and how that may present within mental health services. Relapse of mental deterioration could be due to a number of things; for some it’s caused by alcohol and drugs and for others it may be the deterioration of their mental state leading to the increased use of drugs and alcohol. It was clear from the workshop that at this stage it isn’t always clear how or who needs to treat the problem or even how to prevent further deterioration. For example, a client is deteriorating in mental state due to alcohol and drug use but is referred to community mental health services before potentially considering alcohol and drug services.
What was also informative was looking at different drugs and what street names they may be called. It would’ve been interesting to understand further about drugs – what effects they had and what amounts are lethal etc. – as this would give a greater understanding about how heavily clients have been affected and at what levels withdrawals may be experienced. Also if they are addicted and how heavily they are or not; for alcohol it is generally well understood however for drugs, particularly myself, it isn’t so clear.
In my practice I want to obtain a list of services to which I can refer clients who are interested in drug and alcohol rehab and support services. It will be good to have a more in depth understanding of the experience of clients who have a dual diagnosis and the stages of change. This is particularly helpful as there are different ways in which I can support someone depending on what stage they are at. For example if they are only in the pre-contemplation stage, then it would be useful to sensitively talk about why they may want to change and the positives and negatives involved; at this stage they are not ready to change and therefore it is important to not force or be overwhelming in providing support. Finally, I also have an increase in knowledge about drugs and the effects on clients. In my practice it will help me to understand clients, their needs and I wish to further educate myself on drugs and their effects on clients, so that I can better support them.