Treating Addictions: A Case Study

When the goal of addiction treatment is to provide a behavior change, it is necessary to gather important information that can be vital and increase the likelihood of recovery. Screening for addiction is appropriate when working with a diverse client population, to identify those whom additional evaluation is warranted. In "Chapter 5: Screening, Evaluation, and Diagnosis" of Treating Addictions: A Guide for Professionals (Miller et al, 2011), we grasp the concept that the functions of screening and evaluation depend on the context in which they are given. Some of these settings include emergency rooms, primary care and mental health clinics, agencies for social services, and correctional systems. These clinical settings can display addictive behaviors through the given assessments. From collecting screenings and evaluations, we are sometimes able to obtain a diagnosis.

Even though screening can be confused with diagnosis, by definition, it is meant to overtly include the essential tools needed to uncover a possible problem. It also detects the need for further investigation and evaluation of the client. During the screening process, the goal is to identify the people who come in that also suffer from an addiction. It is important for the assessor to be proactive in addressing the problems. However, evaluation should be considered an ongoing process that beings with the screening, providing whatever information that can be beneficial for treatment. After gathering that information, there is an analysis that the professional typically does noticing a trend or pattern that warrants an identifiable disease or