Drug or alcohol recovery case studies
Recovery from drug or alcohol addiction can sometimes take a very long time, so every milestone along the way can be significant.
We have selected a few case studies which demonstrate the history of some drug and alcohol service users and detail how they have got to where they are now.
Case study 1
J was referred to Progress 2 Work as a targeted offender from the pre-arrest referral team. He had a history of heroin and crack cocaine misuse and entered a detox programme using methadone and moving onto Subutex. J also had a history of offending and was in receipt of incapacity benefit. J was living with his partner who also had a history of drug misuse. There are no children.
Achievements while with Progress 2 Work:
- J needed more support with making his appointments, and so the initial appointment was made for him to attend with an officer from the pre-arrest team.
- An action plan was started to look at returning him into some form of employment.
- It was decided that J would benefit from some form of assistance from the Action 4 Employment (A4E) Programme Centre with a view to assisting him to gain employment.
- Having done this, J was aided by his adviser to look for employment. A number of suitable vacancies within the catering field were sourced from the Jobcentre Plus website and contacted.
- One of the sourced employers agreed to an interview, which was arranged and J was successful.
- Progress 2 Work kept in contact with J whilst in employment to ensure that he could access further support if necessary.
Case study 2
AR was referred to Progress 2 Work. He had had a previous problem with drug and alcohol use and had utilised inpatient alcohol detox services. His drug misuse had consisted purely of cannabis. AR was stable and had some support from his family network. AR had previously worked, but due to his excessive drinking, and to a degree his drug use, he was placed on incapacity benefit. He lived in council property within the Salford area.
Achievements while with Progress 2 Work:
- AR needed more support with making his appointments, and so the initial appointment was made to meet with his Job Centre advisor. This ensured attendance at the first appointment.
- An action plan was started, building on his existing Job Centre action plan, taking out anything that was no longer relevant, and adding points as needed (i.e. getting his health problems sorted out).
- It was decided that AR would benefit from some form of training with a view to employment.
- Therefore an appointment was made with a training provider and AR was booked to attend the two week course.
- AR completed the course and achieved a new qualification.
- An appointment was then made for AR to attend the Action 4 Employment (A4E) Programme Centre for an intensive job search. Also that day AR was introduced to a recruitment agency.
- After attending an interview AR gained full time employment.
Future Action
Progress 2 Work kept in contact with AR whilst in employment so that they could assist if any difficulties arose.
Case study 3
RJ had a history of heroin, crack and cannabis use. After serving a 12-year prison sentence for a serious offence RJ had become drug free and wanted to move forward with his life. He was given support from his family and from his Probation Officer in his plans to make a new start in his life.
Difficulties arising for the client:
- Due to the severity and nature of his offence there were a large number of barriers with employers who were unwilling to give him an opportunity.
- RJ attended a number of interviews and filled out countless application forms but the difficulty arose in disclosure of his offence.
- Whilst in prison RJ had been in employment and gained a glowing reference from this. This was sent out with each application or was faxed across prior to interview.
- Approximately six weeks after engaging with RJ he attended an interview.
- With the agreement of RJ his Progress 2 Work advisor contacted the employer and explained the "New Deal for Employer 25+" run via the Jobcentre Plus whereby they would receive for 6 months £75 per week towards his wages. They gave RJ employment on this scheme.
Case study 4
Salford Adult Drug Service referred S, aged 18, into the Young Person's Substance Misuse Advice and Referral Team (SMART). S had worked with SMART on two previous occasions in the past two years. She had a history of chaotic misuse of depressant drugs including alcohol, heroin methadone and benzodiazepines. She had been looked after by the local authority since the age of 13 as a result of many complex family issues involving parental substance misuse. S had a history of self-harm, depression and anxiety. She had been involved in prostitution and had taken several overdoses in recent years.
S was an extremely vulnerable young woman whose constant risk taking put her in serious danger. She was mistrustful of services and this created some problems in terms of relationship building and providing practical support. It took several months to build up a relationship with S in order to encourage trust. This has been an ongoing issue within the working relationship, as S had often felt let down by professionals that have been involved in her life. Despite these complex difficulties, support has been provided and contact has been maintained.
In the time that S was accessing the service, a number of positive interventions were used to reduce vulnerability and risk:
- Assessment to identify need and put together a care plan and support package.
- Advice and information to S and other workers.
- In-patient detox.
- Hepatitis B vaccination.
- Substitute prescribing for heroin dependency and regular clinical reviews (including mental health assessments).
- Continued key worker support which has included regular home visits.
- Theatre and cinema visits.
- Attendance of meetings as an advocate on S's behalf.
- Liaison with other agencies working with S.
- Supported move from local authority care into independent living.
The priority for the service was to remain in contact with S and maintain some level of relationship so that support could be offered to her in order to reduce the harm of her drug taking. Despite the complex nature of the issues, S managed to sustain a relationship with SMART and her individual worker.
Case study 5
Hello my name is Mark, a client at Salford Training and Advocacy Street Health (STASH) for six months. I am now 35 years old, and for the first time in my 35 years on this earth I feel I have a future, but we will talk about that later. For now I want to talk about how I have built that future with the help, assistance and support of STASH. When I first came to STASH, I had very little self-esteem or hope for the future. I tried everything STASH had to offer me, all different types of sports, music, art and crafts, drama, movie making and script writing etc.
As the months passed by I found myself whittling down these sessions until I had set myself goals for the future. My future is in the field of all aspects of the performing arts where I am now. In the last 30 days I have from start to finish created a production called ‘The Spoof of STASH' which is to be held as part of the open day on the 9th of this month.
Now let me rewind a little bit, after just two days of creating the play, out of nowhere came a girl, who is now my partner in DIY productions called Sally. Sally came to STASH mandatory 2 days a week, all she did was horse riding and arts etc. In the last 20 days Sally has gone from a little bit of painting scenery to making scenery, organising our DIY productions, appointments and then acting. Now she has the same ambitions as I do.
We have now set up our own production company called DIY productions in association with STASH. We have 20 students (clients of STASH) some of whom act, some of whom make scenery etc. Sally and I are leaders in this venture. We hold weekly business meetings with staff. We have discussed briefly the long-term future, and have come up with the conclusion that with the ongoing support of STASH we will be able to make ourselves a career out of the performing arts.
This page was last updated on 16 March 2011
