Social support necessity of recovered addicts
ntroduction Social support and sociability of recovered persons are in the action area of social workers. The social workers try to design practical plans for one’s recovery protection by empowering recovered person and supporting network related to person and by virtue of systematic approaches, empowerment, and crisis intervention, so that the person would be able to perform the functions of individual, family and social because drug user and his supporting network be involved malfunctions following the issue of substance abusing so that the social worker tries to rehabilitate and empower the drug user by professional services until the final aim is obtained that is maintaining standards of quality of life and achieving a normal life style. Support
The literal definition: Maintenance and defense of the person and protection Definition of support in the action area of social work: in this article we have tried to have a constituent definition of support and emphasize on the different aspects of support therefore, we have scrutinized the three components of economic, social and emotional, and various supports are defined based on it. Compiling stages of the social worker utility program
At the first, the social worker studies and evaluates the current conditions for operational definition of how these different constituents of supports performed, so in terms of recognition, a practical program must be accomplished by an active participation of recovered person and his supporting network that is mentioned below. 1. Evaluation:
At the first the social worker evaluates the current situation of recovered person and his supporting network in compiling of supporting plan, until the current capabilities of the individual and family and their disabilities, socio-economic opportunities and resources, environmental constraints are specified and the supporting plans are determined in the terms of priority, and at the end the main aim of the social worker would come true that is increasing life quality standards. Variables studied:
Start age (childhood, adolescence, youth, middle age, old age)
Current age
Married status (single, married, divorced, wife or husband died)
Education status
Employment status (Unemployed, self-employment, Government jobs and private)
Type of substance (narcotics, stimulants, hallucinogenic substances)
How to use it (smoking, edible, injection, and inhalation)
Place of use (home, work, park, friend’s house)
How to prepare a drug (through friends, cupbearer, drug dealing, and etc)
One’s health status (Infectious Diseases and etc)
Mental health status (temper disorders, etc)
How to treat (Medical outpatient clinic, Hospitalization, Abstinence-based residential centers, meetings of unknown addicts, social centers)
Support quality of family (parents, spouse, children, and siblings)
Support quality of kinsmen (grandparents, uncle, cousin …)
Support quality of resources and social networks (friends, colleagues, employer, etc.)
The rate of recovery time (the first month and second month, it should be mentioned the first 6 months of treatment is very important to stabilize recovery and it’s a chance to recover mental and physical damages therefore, the recovered person has passed different fluctuations to be consistent with rehabilitation and this is the one of the most problems)
How to begin to withdraw (he was treated by his readiness for fear of being fired and family being informed, homeless, spouse’s threat to divorce, imprisonment, the loss of financial resources and etc)
Support quality of resources and government agencies (welfare organization, combating drugs headquarters, and medical centers) 2. Latticework for support:
One’s sociability is an important aim of social work and social worker tries that the different constituents of support based on status to be come true. Social workers knows this note that the drug user and his family’s life style is changed during drug using therefore, one of the fundamental concepts is life style changes in representing practical plan of support and other basic concept is the practical participation of recovered person in regulating practical plan. The recovered person is the part of the main semi-systems which he can says his needs and requests well for supporting networks. Emotional support
Nowadays researchers take into consideration family as a social network. In fact the term of system is a network of related relationship (Lerner and colleagues 2002). These systematic effects act directly and indirectly (Berk, 138: 107).
*Direct effects: friendly and patiently relation causes coordinated and helpfully responses while violence and impatience causes anger and opposition. Every reaction makes new story in the chain of interactions (Berk, 1388: 107). The social worker tries that the damaged heartily and respectful relationships to be recreated and verbal and non-verbal emotional relationships to be recovered. For example a sample of emotional support is empathy that it is important during recovery and the family must have a right understanding of the nature of the psychological and physical consequences after withdrawal and empathize with recovered person especially in the first 6 months. It isn’t necessary to reflect one’s feels and words. Knowing that how people feel the reality and what they try to say is empathy (R. Covey, 1388: 253). It is essential that the family has its verbal emotional support and has continuous effort for apologizing, forgiveness, interest, appreciation and valuing them (R. Covey, 1388: 253). As the example of emotional support of family is helping to recovered person in his addiction lifestyle i.e.: Sleep time, wake up time, how to feed, how to dress, how to spend leisure time, how to spend time with family (parents, son, wife), how to conduct matters related to the job, matters related to education, etc.
*Indirect effect: it means the interactions between two members are affected by others are present, based on this definition in the family the social worker is the important member of this indirect effect and he plays a role as a third party to rehabilitate of recovered person and his family. The social worker also helps to strengthen and consolidate of supporting network by informing and teaching treatment constituent. Economic support
The constant stressors accompanied by poverty weaken system family gradually. Poor families have a lot of routine difficulties. Pay the bills, the loss of the unemployment cost, things stolen from home and etc are limited cases of these difficulties. When the daily crises of the family increase, family members would be depressed, bad tempered and disturbed and hostile interactions increase (Evans, 2004).these results are in single parent families and those are forced to live in inappropriate homes and dangerous neighborhoods more. These are the conditions make the daily life hard more and they decrease social support helps the people to cope with economic hardship (Leventhal, Brooks and Gunn: 2003) (Berk, 1388: 15). The social worker is awareness well that a recovered person in the first 6 months of his treatment experiences the loss of some physical and mental capabilities are necessary for economic function and this deficiency causes job deprivations and sometimes unrealistic expectations for those are eligible for employment therefore, the social worker tries to have an effective intervention in person’s family and job environment and he tries to prepare necessary facilities for persons by sensitization and notifications. Another part of the social work services is based on community approach and the social worker bargains with the resources and supporting organizations to provide economic facilities. Social support
In a continuum of great supports, the social support is the socio-government policy (accommodation, health, education, social security) and the supports are done by social agents and agencies, for example in the social policy the facilities are effective more for those are economically deprived than the rich people(Berk, 1388: 116). When the social spread problems are made by poverty, homeless, hunger and unemployment the countries tries to remove them by government policy. The aim of the government plans and regulations is recovering current situations (Berk, 1388: 119). The rehabilitation empowerment of persons and their families which are involved with social problems is very important in the level of social agents and supporting institutions like participation that is the kernel of social rehabilitation. Here is mentioned to viewpoints of Croft and Beresford concerning collaborative activities:
1. Rehabilitation: This makes it possible for people to accept their responsibilities about some things that affect them.
2. Control: it means that the person is entitled to control his needs and explain his viewpoint about decision making and planning process.
3. Equipping: for reaching power, people is equipped through self-confidence, self-esteem, assertiveness, hopes, expectations, knowledge and skills.
4. Organizing of institutions which are willing to participate. One of the most important changes accomplished by social and related agents is removing labels (stigma) from recovered person because the addiction label makes the normal life hard. Final words
Stability and maintenance of recovery must be created by spread supporting networks between individual, family, medical centers, provision of social services and social policy. Mismatching between these semi-systems causes medical and rehabilitation fractures, and the treatment burden of absent semi-systems is upon those are present in practice and this will be the erosion source for present elements and loss of effective work but drug abusing is the multi-part conception and the recovered person is competent that his human dignity preserved and come true. Producer: Fatemeh Jafari
Master of Social Work from the University of Allameh Tabatabai References:
1. R. Covey, Stephen, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, translators: Shahrokh Makvand and Davoud Moheb Ali, Second Edition, Roshd publication, Tehran 1388.
2. Berk, Laura, Developmental Psychology, translator: Yahya Seyed Mohammadi, Volume Two, Arasbaran publication, twelfth edition, Tehran 1388.
3. Payne, Malcolm, Modern Social Work Theory, Translators: Tal’at Allahyari and Akbar Baqshiniya, first edition, Danjeh publication, Tehran 1391.
4. Cline, Chris L., life skills, translator: Shahram Mohammad Khani, first edition, Resaneh publication, Tehran 1386 http://en.iraniansocialworkers.ir/2015/09/17/social-support-necessity-of-recovered-addicts/#more-97
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