Adolescent Substance Abuse (ASU) Group Introduction Alex Rodriguez is A 16-year-old Hispanic male who is in out of home placement. He has been prescribed Adderall and Seroquel to treat a co-occurring disorder, ADHD and Substance Abuse. He has been struggling in school and has begun to ditch his classes. Alex has a strained relationship with his mother, Paula Dominguez, due to past abuse he experienced from his father, but he would like to reunify with her. Other issues Alex struggles with include poor impulse control, depressive symptoms, self-medicating with marijuana, anger outbursts, and attachment issues. Alex has been ordered by the court to participate in Substance Abuse Counseling. Type of Group Developed A psychoeducational group for …show more content…
A needs assessment would have to be done to identify the group members needs and to asses if the client’s needs can be met through the group. Using a CBT approach, group members would learn to “conceptualize substance abuse as a learned behavior that is subject to modifications through various interventions, work to change learned behavior by changing thinking patterns, beliefs, and perceptions, and develop social networks that support abstinence” (Journal, 2003). Group members would need to learn/re-learn “pleasant non drug activities, learn a general problem-solving method, and learn, along with their parents, how they might seek help from them” (Curry, et al., 2001). Group members should be able to participate in discussions and written exercises about how to apply the skills they are taught. Group members should also be able to articulate how their thoughts cause certain feelings which result in certain …show more content…
Pre and post measures to evaluate change in substance abuse should be used. Previous studies done on substance abuse groups for adolescents that employed CBT have had adolescent participants complete two 9-point Likert scales measuring frequency of alcohol use and of marijuana use. Scores would range from 1 (never) to 9 (more once a day). A score of 4 represents once per month, 6 represents once per week, and 8 represents once per day (Curry, et al., 2001). The Likert scales would help gauge any differences in substance use from before, during, and after the group member’s involvement in the substance abuse group. Another way to assess substance use during the course of the group is to utilize Recent Recall Forms, which can be used prior to each group therapy session. Recent Recall Forms indicate whether participants have “drunk any alcohol or used any illegal drugs (marijuana, cocaine, amphetamine, inhalants, heroin, hallucinogens, sedatives) since they had last attended group therapy, including frequency and highest amount used” (Curry, et al.,