Drugs & Alcohol Case Study
CASE STUDY
Brian is married with two teenage children. He set up his own company, a packaging business 10 years ago, and has worked hard to make it viable. During this time his use of alcohol has increased. He currently uses alcohol on a daily basis and often consumes a 1.5L of bottle of spirits a day. He hides this from his wife, but she has recently wanted to talk about this, and is angry and frustrated with him. A recent back injury prompted him to go to his GP, who prescribed a codeine based analgesic.
The cause of Brian’s heavy drinking falls into both the psychological and social components of the bio/psycho/social model. Although there is no evidence of a biological link in the case study, it is possible that there might be a family history of heavy drinkers in Brian’s extended families.
I believe the psychological factors contributing to Brian’s heavy drinking are due to. • his shyness and social phobias, which leaves him with much anxiety attacks. • There’s also the stress of running a business and trying to keep it above water and the possible financial strains with the business and his own personal debts. • And also the pressures at home with his teenage children, and his wife
I believe the social elements are linked to • Brian and his sports mad friends, who constantly gather to drink and cheer any game that is playing, • The weekly happy hour sessions with his work colleagues, and the business conferences or promotional events, where alcohol is always readily available. • Plus Family get-togethers and other social events are always a cause for celebrations.
The physical cause of Brian taking painkillers for his back injury is due to the unsafe heavy lifting at work.
For the Screening Assessment, I would suggest both the Leeds Dependence Questionaire and the Alcohol Use Disorders indentification Test, to detect whether Brian’s alcohol consumption has become hazardous or harmful to his health. AUDIT is a
Brian is married with two teenage children. He set up his own company, a packaging business 10 years ago, and has worked hard to make it viable. During this time his use of alcohol has increased. He currently uses alcohol on a daily basis and often consumes a 1.5L of bottle of spirits a day. He hides this from his wife, but she has recently wanted to talk about this, and is angry and frustrated with him. A recent back injury prompted him to go to his GP, who prescribed a codeine based analgesic.
The cause of Brian’s heavy drinking falls into both the psychological and social components of the bio/psycho/social model. Although there is no evidence of a biological link in the case study, it is possible that there might be a family history of heavy drinkers in Brian’s extended families.
I believe the psychological factors contributing to Brian’s heavy drinking are due to. • his shyness and social phobias, which leaves him with much anxiety attacks. • There’s also the stress of running a business and trying to keep it above water and the possible financial strains with the business and his own personal debts. • And also the pressures at home with his teenage children, and his wife
I believe the social elements are linked to • Brian and his sports mad friends, who constantly gather to drink and cheer any game that is playing, • The weekly happy hour sessions with his work colleagues, and the business conferences or promotional events, where alcohol is always readily available. • Plus Family get-togethers and other social events are always a cause for celebrations.
The physical cause of Brian taking painkillers for his back injury is due to the unsafe heavy lifting at work.
For the Screening Assessment, I would suggest both the Leeds Dependence Questionaire and the Alcohol Use Disorders indentification Test, to detect whether Brian’s alcohol consumption has become hazardous or harmful to his health. AUDIT is a