M6

Name of student

Name of institution

Name of instructor

Maria’s case study

Maria, who has now been using drugs for quite some time should undergo guidance and counseling to help in saving the situation. From the previous situations, there are some developments that one can notice by looking at the case study. First is that she has increased the frequency with which she uses marijuana. This clearly shows that there is no improvement in her case and speedy interventions should be made to help her. Another notable development is the fact that apart from using marijuana, she has now started using cocaine. This is also proof that the situation is quickly getting out of hand. One good development that is evident is the fact that she has agreed to visit a counselor. She is afraid of any tests because it will expose what her parents are already suspecting.

Using the DSM-V criteria, it is evident that she meets more that one of the criteria used. In this criterion, dependency on alcohol, marijuana and cocaine are dealt with. The reason why she meets this criterion is because she has increased the frequency with which she uses alcohol. She drinks more often compared to the previous days. Maria now drinks three or four bottles in one sitting as opposed to the previous status. She has also increased the number of time that she uses marijuana in a week.

The adult approach can work quite well since she is already an adult and somehow understands the things affecting her. By carrying out a therapy based on the adult criteria, it can be possible to remove any fears that might make her shy away from speaking out. By encouraging her to speak out, she can get the much needed help to assist her to restrain from alcohol and substance use. It is criterion that can serve her well.

Maria has shown elements of mental health disorder and can be said to be suffering from the same. The fact that she does not want to associate with other people proves the fact that she has a lot of things going on in her mind. Mental health disorder directly relates to weight loss. The rate at which Maria is losing weight is one of the things that make it a fact that she is indeed having problems with her mental health.

The best method that can be used to talk to Maria is empathy. By putting myself in her situation and talking about a similar situation that I have gone through, I will make her open up and hence I can start the therapy process. Bringing in a third party would make it quite easy to form an alliance with the parents. She will be ready to share more information with the person more than she is willing to do with the parents.

The best approach that can be used in the case of Maria is CBT. The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one that deals with the underlying thoughts that contribute to the behavior that one has. In this case, Maria has a lot of thoughts regarding Herpes and it is what pushes her to use drugs and spend time alone. In this case, it will be the best method since it will focus on correcting the thoughts that make her use drugs on a regular basis.

Of the other three approaches, I would make use of the solution-focused therapy and in this case I would ensure I make use of the questions technique. Questions would be very important to try and find out the underlying issues that make Maria to use drugs to such an extent.

One of the areas that would require the use of risk reduction is the use of cocaine. It already has resulted to negative performance at school and should be dealt with to reduce the level of risks she can face.

Another method that would work for Maria and her family is the use of a third party that she is used to. The parents can look for that friend she can tell anything and they will be able to work out things out in the best way.

References

American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing. pp. 74–85. ISBN 978-0-89042-555-8.

Beck AT, Rush AJ, Shaw BF, Emery G (1979). Cognitive Therapy of Depression. New York: Guilford Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-89862-000-9.