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Written by Barbara H. Center, MD
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Thursday, 06 August 2009 20:41 |
 Assessment and Case Management of the Substance Abuse Patient
The assessment and treatment of addictions is a challenging area for both clinicians and case managers. Many addictions are chronic illnesses, with patients and their families pursuing multiple courses of treatment. A good understanding of appropriate assessment of the substance abuse patient is an integral part of the case management of this patient population.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that, in 2006, 23.6 million Americans age 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol abuse problem. Only 10.8 percent of this population received treatment at a specialty facility for the treatment of substance abuse disorders. Patients presenting with alcohol issues alone or in combination with another drug represented 39.7 percent of admissions to publicly funded facilities. Requests for treatment related to marijuana, heroin, crack cocaine, stimulants and other non-heroin opiates make up the majority of the remaining presenting symptoms, according to statistics from NIDA.
The initial assessment of a patient to determine the necessity of treatment and the appropriate level of care generally occurs on an ambulatory basis, often in the setting of an outpatient office, EAP assessment or admissions unit of a substance abuse treatment program. While some patients are self-referred, many patients are referred by concerned family or friends, an employer, a school or through the courts.
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Written by Brent L. Halderman, PhD, and James R. Eyman, PhD
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Thursday, 06 August 2009 20:12 |
 Dealing with Loss in Lay and Professional Roles
Everyone loses a loved one at some time or another. As practicing psychologists for many years, the authors have often helped others deal with loss. Maybe we should be used to it. But not so. When experiencing our own losses, we found ourselves reacting just like our patients.
Regardless of education or experience, the death of loved ones hits hard. When the sense of loss overwhelms people, they rely on help from case managers. They can depend on you for help to deal with the overwhelming details and decisions that accompany caregiving and death.
But the person closest to loss is not the only sufferer. Loss, and the accumulation of many losses over time, takes a toll on the case manager. This article offers some suggestions for caregivers and for case managers to cope when illness and death occur.
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Written by CATHY CRESS, MSW
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Tuesday, 23 June 2009 06:06 |
Behavioral Health Across the Continuum of the Over-50 Divide
Few care managers have studied the continuum of care across the aging family. Gerontologists see the aging continuum as essentially half of our lives. Aging starts around 50, and these days it is not uncommon for people to live to be 100 or more. In a growing number of cases, half of our lifespan is spent growing old.
Yet individuals do not grow old in a vacuum. Family members age with them, effectually creating the continuum of the aging family. The less aged of this aging family is often referred to as the “young old,” which today includes the much-analyzed baby boomers but can range up to those as old as 85. This group is generally healthy yet tasked with care for the second group — the “old old,” or the frail elderly.
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