FREE ESSAY ON SUBSTANCE ABUSE HISTORY

SUBSTANCE ABUSE HISTORY

A diagnostic summary was completed on 10/6/96; Jack Smith is a 41-year-old white male
currently living in a small community in southern Ohio. Jack came into the agency
involuntarily; his involvement with the agency is a requisite of probation for assault
and domestic violence. He was arrested for assaulting his wife during an alcoholic
blackout; he was placed on probation for one year on the condition he participates in
substance abuse counseling. This is Jack's second involvement with this agency as a
result of his alcohol abuse. His first encounter was in 1985, when he underwent
after-care counseling with an agency counselor who no longer is employed at this
facility.
The apparent symptom's of chemical dependency were: 1) Loss of Control - Jack had made
several attempts at controlling the amounts of alcohol he consumed, but those times when
he was able to abstain from alcohol were when he substituted marijuana and/or other
drugs. 2) Blackouts - these began occurring almost daily as a result of his alcohol and
marijuana use. 3) Family History of Alcohol/Drug Usage - Jack's natural and adoptive
parents, as well as three natural brothers and three natural sisters have used alcohol
and/or drugs heavily. 4) Changes in Tolerance - when Jack began drinking at age 15, he
soon developed a high tolerance for beer; by age 18, he was drinking six-to nine beers
per occasion, and had begun smoking marijuana on these occasions. Before he stopped using
marijuana in 1985, he was smoking one-two marijuana joints daily through the week, and
five-six joints daily on weekends, as well as drinking the equivalent of a 12-pack of
beer daily, occasionally "chasing" it with whiskey during the week, and on weekend,
consuming the standard 12-pack of beer in addition to half of a fifth of whiskey mixed
with soft drinks. 5) Physiological Symptomology - Jack was diagnosed with bleeding ulcers
shortly after he began drinking at age 15; when he entered his second treatment program
in 1985, he was diagnosed with alcoholic hepatitis; currently, his
flushed/tannish-looking skin and bloated appearance (edema) are indicative of further
liver dysfunctions which can be attributed to his continued alcohol consumption.