Gambling Issues 

Refer to a Counselor for Gambling Issues 

Rationale:  Several different types of therapy are used to treat gambling disorder, including cognitive behavior therapy, psychodynamic therapy, group therapy and family therapy (American Psychiatric Association, 2016) As recent, there is no FDA approved pharmacotherapy for gambling disorder. But, pharmacotherapy approaches for problem gambling can be effective when directed toward the patient’s comorbid psychiatric condition such as bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder(OCD), and substance abuse.

The client was concerned about her smoking and appeared to be motivated to stop smoking, hence adding medication to assist her to quit would have been a reasonable approach to avoid health complications (e.g cardiovascular, pulmonary) associated with smoking. However, I did not select the answer as the starting dosage (Varenicline 1mg PO BID) was slightly higher than recommended starting dose. Initial 0.5 mg/day; after 3 days increase to 1 mg/day in two divided doses; after 4 days can increase to 2 mg/day in two divided dose(Stahl, 2017) . Starting at a higher would have increased the possibilities of adverse effects such nausea, vomiting and even agitation.

Adding Diazepam (Valium) would not be a good option, as Valium is an addictive benzodiazepine with longer-lasting effects than other drugs in its class. In the light of the client’s history substance use disorder and addiction, adding another addictive substance such as valium would cause more harm.

The client returns in four weeks, reports that anxiety has gone. Client reports not liking the therapist, but she has joined gambling anonymous group.

Decision Number Three

Explore the issue that Mrs Lopez is having with her counselor, and encourage her to continue attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings

Rationale: Despite that Mrs. Lopez did not have a good relationship with the counselor, but she remained committed to fighting her addiction by joining Gamblers Anonymous group. Still, counseling remains the main approach in gambling addiction treatment, hence exploring the issues that Mrs. Lopez had with counselor would help to guide the next step in treatment. Also, smoking cessation needs to be explored at this time. Assessing the client’s willingness to quit is the first step as smokers differ in their readiness to change their tobacco use (Niaura, 2017). Understanding the smokers’ perspectives is essential to providing useful assistance.

Ethical and Legal Implications in Prescribing Medications to Treat Substance Use Disorders.

In order to optimize care of clients with substance use disorder, health professionals are encouraged to learn  and appropriately use routine screening techniques, clinical laboratory tests, brief interventions, and treatment referrals ( Garbutt, 2014). Using screening tools such as CAGE Questionnaire for alcohol use dependence, would be ideal in guiding treatment approach. Additionally, client’s autonomy and confidentiality must be maintained before prescribing medications to treat an addiction. When a legal or medical obligation exists for  a health professional to test clients for substance use disorder, there is an ethical responsibility to notify clients of this testing and make a reasonable effort to obtain informed consent ( Garbutt, 2014)

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2016). What Is Gambling Disorder? Retrieved from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gambling-disorder/what-is-gambling-disorder

Canidate, S. S., Carnaby, G. D., Cook, C. L., & Cook, R. L. (2017). A Systematic Review of Naltrexone for Attenuating Alcohol Consumption in Women with Alcohol Use Disorders. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 41(3), 466-472. Retrieved from https://web-b-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=14&sid=183cffb8-9da8-48b2-a1b7-66c14f735856%40sessionmgr101

Drugs.com. (2017). Vivitrol Dosage Guide – Drugs.com. Retrieved from https://www.drugs.com/dosage/vivitrol.html

Garbutt, J. C., Greenblatt, A. M., West, S. L., Morgan, L. C., Kampov-Polevoy, A., Jordan, H. S., & Bobashev, G. V. (2014). Clinical and biological moderators of response to naltrexone in alcohol dependence: a systematic review of the evidence. Addiction, 109(8), 1274-1284. Retrieved from https://web-a-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=8&sid=41ca863e-175d-45ae-ba36-43317c3c58e5%40sessionmgr4008

Niaura, R. (2017). Learning From Our Failures in Smoking Cessation Research | Nicotine & Tobacco Research | Oxford Academic. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/ntr/article/19/8/889/3888613

SAMHSA. (2016). Treatments for Substance Use Disorders | SAMHSA – Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/treatment/substance-use-disorders

Sharp, A., Jones, A., Sherwood, J., Kutsa, O., Honermann, B., & Millett, G. (2018). Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Access to Opioid Analgesic Medications and Medication-Assisted Treatment. American Journal of Public Health, 108(5), 642-648. Retrieved from https://web-a-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=21e9426c-0afa-475e-9a9a-e1872d98830d%40sess

Stahl, S. M. (2017). Essential psychopharmacology: The prescriber’s guide : antipsychotics and mood stabilizers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Yahn, S. L., Watterson, L. R., & Olive, M. F. (2013). Safety and Efficacy of Acamprosate for the Treatment of Alcohol Dependence. Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, 7. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3565569/

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