Military social work- substance abuse
Scenario 1:
Susan is an active duty personnel. She completed two tours in Afghanistan and is now stationed at Camp Pendleton. She did not suffer any physical injuries during this time on deployment. Her husband reports to the counselor at the family support center that she is drinking more often and is getting drunk more regularly. When she gets drunk, she yells, stumbles around the house, or she passes out. He’s concerned about her, so he calls her commanding officer and reports his concerns. Susan’s commanding officer immediately orders her to counseling for her drinking. You are the helping professional who is meeting with Susan and her husband for the first time. She enters the office, annoyed and disinterested. She looks at you and says, “Before you start, I know why I’m here. I’m ordered to be here by my CO. But I can already tell by looking at you that you have never picked up a weapon. You can’t do a thing for me. What can you tell me about my problems?”
Scenario 2:
Trevor is a homeless Vietnam veteran. He has been living on the streets for 28 years. His wife and three children left him 2 years after he returned home from Vietnam after they could no longer handle his heroin addiction, which began while he was in Vietnam. Trevor often walks the street with a cardboard sign saying, “I’m a veteran, please help.” It is rare that someone looks twice at him. He is able to make enough money to support his drug habit or he will steal money if he needs to. Recently, he was arrested for possession of a controlled substance. His daughter went to his arraignment and begged the court to send him to treatment and to have some leniency as he is a veteran and suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. The judge agreed and sentenced him to the Veterans Hospital for treatment. You are meeting with Trevor and his daughter for the first time to discuss recommendations. Trevor looks you up and down and considers his approach. “I used to drown it out. I can’t stop it. Can you? Can you tell me where to go to make it stop?”
For this Discussion, select one of the scenarios provided and consider how you would respond to their situation.
By Day 4
Post as a social worker, how you would respond to the personnel or veteran in the scenario you selected.
Be sure to support your post with specific references to the resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.
