Theoretical and clinical approaches to the treatment of adolescent drug addiction.

ABSTRACT

Psychologists, social workers, addiction specialists, and occupational therapists often find themselves faced with clients who not only are addicted but also have personal, family, and social problems. These combined problems make the drug-abusing client an extremely difficult one to work with. Occupational therapists have a particular challenge in that they must not only understand and analyze their clients' occupational behavior but also their needs as addicts. This paper describes an approach to adolescent addiction that presents a clinical and theoretical consideration that could be helpful to professionals who work with addicted or drug-abusing clients. In the approach a fusion must be made between the client and the therapist or treatment program. The fusion is temporary but long enough to provide opportunities for clients to work through their feelings of anger, aggression, and sadism, as well as their ego and superego problems. To understand all aspects of their use of drugs, an easily memorized two-dimensional scheme is drawn by the client and therapist together and is used to formulate a treatment plan. Separation from the therapist or program is an essential part of treatment. At this time the client is given the kind of emotional support required to establish new relationships.