Primary Causes Of Substance Abuse

Millions of people around the world each day are affected by substance abuse. Substance abuse is the overindulgence in or dependence on an addictive substance (Fisanick, 2009). It is a condition that can destroy not only the user’s life, but also those that care about the person. Substance abuse is responsible for half a million preventable deaths each year (Corse, 1995).
Substance abuse includes the misuse of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug. Examples of illegal drugs include marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine, and opiates. Each year substance abuse costs our Nation approximately $600 billion dollars. This includes an estimated total of $235 billion for alcohol, $193 billion for illicit drugs, and $183 billion for tobacco (Rehm, 2012).
These costs are also attributed to the high rate of crime, lost work productivity, and health care treatment facilities (Dryden-Edwards, MD, 2015).
Many studies have been conducted on what causes a person to find they have becoming an addict. Often it is often linked to a childhood trauma, peer pressure, and lack of self-confidence. According to the American Psychological Association, substance abuse has been known as the number one health problem of the nation for it is a condition that appeals to all age groups, race, and social classes (Martin, 2001).
With such a large health care problem it is essential that substance abuse treatment centers provide a high level of care and compassion to recovering addicts in order for their recovery to be successful.
Relapse is a major problem to combat in substance abuse treatment. The primary cause of failures in patients is drug craving and drug-related cognitions. Factors that attribute to these clients backsliding once their treatment is completed include their attentional bias and implicit attitudes to drugs. These factors alone are the primary causes that help contribute to relapse. It is vital that the counselors and health care staff be well trained in knowing how to deal with their patients (Marhe,
2013).
According to the report completed by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH), Tennessee is ranked eights as having the highest drug overdose mortality rate in the United State. Out of a score card of 10 Tennessee scored a seven on new policy report card of promising strategies that is said to help curb prescription drug abuse (Lang, 2016). In a fifty mile radius of Oak Ridge, there are a total of nine substance abuse treatment facilities (Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration U.S. Department of Health, 2016).
Many substance abuse treatment facilities are non-profit organizations that are federally funded.
Their existence depends on the types of policies and procedures they have in place to govern their operation. One of the primary substance abuse treatment facilities is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and is known as the HOPE of East Tennessee, Inc. HOPE is registered as a charitable organization which is a non-profit organization in the state of Tennessee. It opened its doors in 1976, and has successfully treated over 4,000 people. It features a twelve step rehabilitation program that centers on both male and female clients (Clayton, 2016).
What sets the HOPE treatment center apart from similar substance abuse facilities is the fact it features one of the most economically cost effective programs in East Tennessee. A thirty day treatment program costs approximately $440.00. Therapy can be completed as an outpatient or at a transitional living apartment. These apartments are fully furnished with a total of 11 beds designated as a two phase transition program (Clayton,
2016).
HOPE is licensed by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and is required to follow all applicable life safety rules. Currently, the procedures and policies that keep this business in operation are kept in hard copy form in a three ring binder that has not been updated since 2012. Although the content is still current, the facility is still using hard copy of these documents for audit purposes. There has been no effort to take this priceless knowledge and preserve it in a more retrievable electronic format.
There are strict regulations that substance abuse treatment centers must follow when it comes to staffing. These types of qualifications are established through The National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD). These range from the qualifications of the Director to the presence of certain types of staff and the ratio of staff to clients. The most common requirement for clinical procedures is that treatment and discharge plans be developed for each admission. The fundamental requirements for earning the Clinical Substance Use Disorder Counselor are: specific formal education requirements, supervision/experience requirements to become certified, testing and continuing education requirements to stay certified (Mandell, 2016).