Drug Intervention

Intervention may be the most effective solution to a dependency problem because it would be very unusual for an addict to ask for help unless, during a crisis, it would be remiss of family and friends to sit idly by and wait . that these patients “hit bottom,” which could mean death.

The person who abuses substances normally clings to the “false belief” that they completely control their chaotic existence.

The reason that an intervention may be a viable solution for an addict and their loved ones is that all of these individuals may suffer the negative effects of the family problem.

Loved ones of the addict may watch helplessly as their family member or friend journeys through the darkness of drug or alcohol addiction.

 They may choose to perform an intervention, which could motivate addicts to seek treatment.

Intervention Strategies For Concerned Parents

Teens who substance abuse alcohol or other drugs may manage to keep their secrets as if they were secret agents leading a double life.

Next, the young people were surveyed. Three times as many—42%—admitted to having smoked the weed.

 Kids often try to hide that they use alcohol and drugs from their parents, and parents often refuse to believe that their children can be involved in these activities.

Play Video

In the follow-up study on attitudes in society, conducted 1998 by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, only 14% of parents surveyed acknowledged that their children might have tried marijuana.

When Parents Think A Teen May Be Experimenting With Drugs

According to studies of youth in drug treatment, some had been using alcohol and other substances for more than two years without their parents.

When a father suspects his son has a drug problem, the young man probably already has a serious problem.

When a parent suspects that their teen has a drug problem, they may already have a serious problem.

Play Video

Trust Your Instincts:

  1. If you have that unsettling feeling that your teen may be involved in drugs, don’t ignore it.
  2. Talk to your child and explain her concerns in detail.
  3. Be prepared: Your child may open up and talk to you about her drug use and ask for help.
  4. Be strong and take a stand to reassure him: Your teen may have made a false step, but now is the time to correct it.
  5. Get your child treated by a mental health or addiction therapist. Your pediatrician can guide you if you don’t know where to start.

Keep An Eye On The Situation: Don’t rule out the possibility if your child denies his substance use. Watch him very closely. Physical evidence, such as finding drugs or utensils in your child’s room, photos on Facebook, or text messages about using drugs, can help you force the issue, raising the question: Is it ethical? Search a teenager’s bedroom or invade their privacy?

Privacy: If you don’t have a specific concern about your child’s behavior, it’s reasonable to allow them a degree of privacy that increases as they mature. However, “when the signs point to substance use,” says Dr. Adele Hofmann, “a parent has every right to violate a young person’s privacy and search for drugs. Adolescents are not autonomous adults living in their parent’s homes. Sometimes, this is what needs to be done to protect them.”

Check With Your Pediatrician: Monitor your child’s behavior closely, even if you find no physical evidence. Talk to your child’s pediatrician and be explicit about the brief. Your child may have a medical or mental health problem that causes behavioral changes. Whatever the cause of the problem, your pediatrician can guide you to understand what’s going on.

Models Of Drug Intervention

The Consumption Distribution Model

Some of the measures that have been proposed from this perspective to limit consumption are the increase in prices, the control of advertising, the increase in the ages of legal consumption, restrictions on the opening hours of establishments linked to consumption, fines and penalties for establishments that serve minors, penalties for consumption in unauthorized places, or criminal penalties for drunk drivers (Elzo, Elorza, and Laespada, 1994).

Even though the availability factor is essential to understand the massive consumption of alcohol and tobacco in our society, the mere mention of the extensive commercial distribution of these products, without mentioning other psychological and social factors, is an incomplete explanation for understanding consumption. Abusive or addictive in certain individuals or groups (Giró, 2007).

However, this approach differs from the legal model’s greater interest in non-institutionalized substances. The consumption distribution model would reduce the negative effects of standardized substances by regulating their supply. In short, a set of legislative measures tending to restrict the supply and availability of drugs in the social environment is advocated. In a broader sense, they reduce the uncritical acceptability contributing to certain substances’ massive consumption.

The Traditional Medical Model

The traditional medical model is not a sufficient interpretation to explain the complex problem of drug use, not only because of the previous critical reflection on the stigmatization of the addict as sick but also because of other shortcomings:

 The emphasis on biologist and individualist interpretations ignores aspects important for understanding consumer behavior, such as social factors. It is a monadic and biologist model, according to which the addiction problem can only be understood and addressed from within the affected subject. Although it is not explicitly recognized, it is considered that drug addiction has an idiopathic etiology. This unknown or unclear origin can only be understood by itself, assuming only the possible influence of genetic factors (Schuckit, 1986).

 It barely contemplates non-addictive abusive consumption; that is, it focuses on drug dependence. He is interested in studying drug use as a pathological category, not behavior.

 It is a model more oriented to illness than health (Friedman, 2002). It does not focus on health as the final object of study, but this is the disease. However, the contemporary conception of health, defined by the WHO, understands that the study and treatment of the disease must be a part –very important, in any case– of a whole that is the full and global achievement of health.

Proposes that the prevention of any disease or illness should be based on the dissemination among the population of the knowledge accumulated by science about what factors cause health problems. Scientific research itself in the field of social sciences and health sciences has proven that information does not reduce unhealthy behaviors (Kramer and Cameron, 1975; Salleras, 1985; Heaven, 1996; Sánchez-Vidal, 1998). The traditional medical model assumes that, depending on people’s appreciation for their health, knowing what can harm it will discourage them from carrying out certain behaviors. However, it is a proven fact that not all people give their health a high priority within their scale of values. There will be those who put other values ​​of more immediate verification before health, such as fun, group acceptance, image, and a taste for risk. This will also depend on the life cycle stage in which each individual is.…