Opioid Addiction in Adults: A Group Counselling Plan

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Topic Presentation

This topic is relevant to the adult age since most medical reports and other studies have shown that adults consume these drugs more often than young. According to the available data sources, the risk rate in adults’ consumption and addiction to opioids is higher than the young age risk rates. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 2020 indicated that adults 65 years and above were 25.4% addicted to the intake of opioids in their regular lifestyles (Wickramatilake et al., 2020).

Topic Appropriateness

This topic is relevant to the adult age since most medical reports and other studies have shown that adults consume these drugs more often than young. According to the available data sources, the risk rate in adults’ consumption and addiction to opioids is higher than the young age risk rates. The Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) found that the addiction rate of opioid use among adults 60 years and above was 7.9% compared to those of 20-39 years of age (Weiss et al., 2017).

Target Group

The target group for this study area is the adults who have been chosen since they are the most vulnerable groups to the effects of long-term consumption of opioids. The adult group is categorized into three different groups ages 18-29 years, 30-60 years, and above 65 years. Old adults are usually exposed to the transition between acute body pains and chronic conditions that are prolonged and usually take time to heal. These conditions are brought about by the dysfunctional and non-responsive body systems, which slow the general sensory system to respond to the harmful conditions brought into the body. The adults are also exposed to various psychological actions, such as attitudes toward pain reactions and body disturbances due to long stays (Johnston et al., 2019). Therefore, adults are the most suitable group in counseling for the abuse of these drugs since they provide the most relevant information regarding the benefits and health hazards of opioid addiction.

Specific Focus Group

The specific focus group for the counseling session involves adults of 65 years and above who have been identified as the most addicted individuals in opioid consumption as they aim at treating their regular consumption. Adults of 60 years and above are exposed to various body problems as their immune systems have weakened and may not fight the illnesses are other groups. The focus group would offer the bests responses to the questions and set of the task our group has designed to ensure we come up with the bests remedies and recommendations for the effect of long-term consumption of opioids.

Characteristics of a group leader

A group leader ensures that the group is led in a healthy discussion and that the group’s objectives are achieved. There are some peculiar characteristics that an individual should portray to perform as a group leader. The group leader should be a team manager, collaborative and problem solver, have good communication skills and leadership skills, and ensure that they plan and have negotiation skills. A group leader should not take any side in a discussion but rather offer a solution to all the members without any biasness and prejudice.

Group type and formulation of a group leader

There are two key different group types: formal and informal groups. When there is a formal group discussion, the issues are well structured, and the group’s organization is communicated effectively. The formal group ensures that the group leader performs in his/her best capacity since the roles of the group leader are outlined in the member’s memorandum. Group formulation refers to a group thinking process that effectively integrates perceptions, cognition, intervention, and evaluation. When there is no group formulation plan, a group leader would be hindered in his achievement of the task as the leader since the core purpose and the group’s objective would not be experienced accordingly (Johnson, 2020).

Cultural and diversity factors of group development

The cultural factors in a discussion group include issues such as the group policy, objectives, aims, and mission. When this culture is properly outlined, and members are aware of their targets, the group’s performance will increase since each individual will aim to ensure success in his/her role as a group member (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics & Quality, 2019). Diversity factors are increasingly becoming an interesting point in every group formation since a group is expected to involve all members from different races, gender, ethnic background, and other personal characteristics. For a group to achieve its tasks effectively, there must be diversification in opinion and other considerations to ensure the quality output of the group members.

Steps to ensure culture and diversity in the group

First, acknowledge individual personal differences; in any group, it is necessary to admit that members come from different races or gender or have personalities different from others.

Secondly, offer unbiased training to all members of a group; this training should be done to all regardless of their individual life experiences or roles in the group. Third, offer team mentors; the availability of these mentors ensures that each member of the group performs as expected.

Fourth, encourage questions during sessions to ensure consistency in the issues raised and solutions provided in the group. Fifth, encourage personal evaluation in the group as this ensures that group members perform to their bests and avoid redundancy in the discussion.

Effective interventions for the old population

The research suggests various interventions for addicted adults. These interventions range in their long-term benefits. In the case of an addicted adult, there is a need to reduce opioid prescriptions when there is a feeling that the harmful effects of the drug overpower the health benefits to an individual. This intervention can be done without compromising the quality of the pain control mechanism and the patient’s life quality. Besides, there is a need to reduce the adverse conduction risks associated with old age when there is a feeling that the misuse or regular abuse of the drugs can deteriorate the patient’s condition.

Disadvantages of involving the old population in research

The first disadvantage associated with working with adults is that most of them are uncooperative and careless about the harmful effects of the intake of these drugs. When an adult has frequently abused the drug, they become unresponsive and may not be easily controlled in medical assistance cases; hence they tend to be unresponsive to changes. Finally, there would be challenges of language barriers for the patient and the medical team, and counselors since most of these age groups need translators who can easily act as arbitrators between the counselor and the client.

Group Counseling Plan: Session 1

The sessions assist the counselor in collecting enough data for reviews and possible recommendations on the addicts. The sessions range from the preparation stages to the final group meetings, where counselors interact with each other on the options and clients’ responses. These sessions aid in decision-making and possible measures to be implemented by counselors. They also create forums for personal interactions with the addicts.

Group Counseling Plan: Session 1
Theme/Objective Main Tasks Materials Needed Instructions
  1. Getting to know the group
  2. Creating a safe environment
  3. Understanding opioid addiction
 1. Introductory messages
2. Team members Check-in
3. Warm-Up: Two Truths and
a Lie
4. Main Activity
5. Discussion:
a. What is opioid addiction?
b. How has it affected you?
c. What was it like listening to other group members’ experiences with opioid addiction?
6. Closing		 Three Truths and a Lie: Mirroring Resonance Three Truths and a Lie:
• Participants are instructed to write down four “facts” about them, one of which are true and one of which is a lie.
• Group members take turns reading their three truths and a lie while other members guess which ones are true and which lie.
Mirroring Resonance:
• The group divides into sub-units.
• Within these sub-groups, participants take turns sharing their personal experiences with opioid addiction, using the other members’ bodies to “sculpt” the scene.
• The sculpted participants remain frozen in the scene until the sculptor says, “Parla!” while the third partner watches.
• Participants then freeze back into a sculpture to finish the exercise.
• The sculptures take their performance cues from the original story, thereby mirroring the author’s addiction experience.

Group Counseling Plan: Session 2

In this session, the group members discuss their long-term goals and dreams.

Group Counseling Plan: Session 2
Theme/Objective Main Tasks Materials Needed Instructions
  1. Exploring life goals
  2. Determining long-term vision
  3. Identifying priorities
 1. Check-in
2. Warm-Up: A conversation about future life goals, dreams, visions, and ideal state
3. Main Activity: Alternative realities
a) Discussion Questions:
i. What would be a realistic goal and future vision for your life?
ii. What would be a fictional or unrealistic vision for your life?		 Alternative realities:
• None		 Alternative realities:

  • Participants imagine having access to a new reality where they are the main agents with no current issues.
  • Participants stand up one by one and communicate their realistic vision for their future, outlining the goals they want to achieve.
  • Each participant is asked to add a statement or question to the vision.
  • The second round involves an unrealistic reality.
  • Similar questioning and contributing to the discussion are conducted.
  • Each participant explores what makes one’s dream in an unrealistic reality different from the realistic one.
  • Other participants engage in bridging or combining the two versions.

Group Counseling Plan: Session 3

In this session, members learn to practice awareness and express their appreciative gratitude towards each other by forming paired groups that enable them to respond to the key questions raised by other members.

Group Counseling Plan: Session 3
Theme/Objective Main Tasks Materials Needed Instructions/Activities
  1. Practicing self-awareness
  2. Expressing gratitude
 1. Members Check-in
2. Pair Warm-Up: Red Light, Green Light
3. Main Activity: Gratitude Mapping
4. Discussion: What are the things that make you feel grateful?
5. Closing		 Red Light, Green Light
None
Gratitude Mapping
Paper and pencil		 Red Light, Green Light
Participants attempt to be the first to reach the leader, who calls “green light” to indicate when players can move and “red light” when they must stop.
Anyone moving after the group leader says, “red light” must return to the start line while “exploding” (i.e., via sound, movement, etc.).
Gratitude Mapping:

  1. Participants break up into groups of four.
  2. Sub-groups are instructed to reflect on things in their lives for which they feel grateful.
  3. Using a different colored pen, each participant writes their gratitude list.
  4. Sub-groups present their list using gestures, movement, role-playing, or any other desired expressive form.

Group Counseling Plan: Session 4

In this session, the group members discuss their personal weaknesses and provide recommendations.

Group Counseling Plan: Session 4
Theme/Objective Main Tasks Materials Needed Instructions
  1. Learning about personal weaknesses
  2. Identifying trigger points
  3. Sharing personal insights
 1. Check-in
2. Warm-Up: Outlining one’s strengths and weaknesses
3. Main Activity: Sharing coping strategies
a) Discussion Questions:
i. What did you learn about your weakness?
ii. Whose advice or recommendation was most applicable?
iii. What do you find the most useful recommendation?		 Outlining one’s strengths and weaknesses:
• None
Sharing coping strategies:
• Paper and pencil		 Outlining one’s strengths and weaknesses:

  • Participants stand up and share their key strengths with the group.
  • Participants stand up and share their key weaknesses with the group.
  • Sharing coping strategies:
  • Participants created two columns titled Strengths and Weaknesses.
  • Participants exchange their corresponding writings randomly and anonymously.
  • Each participant is given time to list recommendations on how to use the strengths to minimize or eliminate the weak points.
  • Each participant stands up and delivers his or her recommendations with some lessons from personal experience.

Group Counseling Plan: Session 5

This session establishes a group that works closely with each other, and it involves rigorous exercises at its initial stages. After the exercises., members are allowed to pair against each other and conduct exchange sessions.

Group Counseling Plan: Session 5
Theme/Objective Main Tasks Materials Needed Instructions
  1. Establishing group cohesion
  2. Practicing work in the dramatic reality
  3. Engaging in creative work
 1. Members Check-in
2. Pair Warm-Up
3. Main Activity: Improvisation
a. Discussion Questions:
i. How did this exercise make you feel?
ii. Did you relate to anyone else in the group?		 Pantomime:
• None
Improvisation:
• Paper and pencil		 Pantomime:
• Members are instructed to convey their emotions through non-verbal communication
(i.e., facial expressions, body language, and gestures).
• Group debrief on the meaning of each other’s pantomimes.
Improvisation:
• Members use objects, costumes, and other props to improvise scenes from the pantomime exercise.
• Members are encouraged to develop a plot, characters, and theme.
• Members are randomly selected to act out a scene and react to each other in real-time.
• Group debrief.

Group Counseling Plan: Session 6

In this session, the group members discuss their short-term vision and create a plan centered around coping mechanisms.

Group Counseling Plan: Session 6
Theme/Objective Main Tasks Materials Needed Instructions
  1. Establishing short-term objectives
  2. Determining long-term goals
  3. Developing corresponding plans
  4. Sharing and designing coping mechanisms
 1. Check-in
2. Warm-Up: What are your short-term and long-term objectives?
3. Main Activity: Strategy through planning
a) Discussion Questions:
i. How determined are your goals?
ii. Do you feel more confident and motivated?
iii. How likely are you to achieve your short-term objectives?		 Warm-Up:
• None
Strategy through planning:
• Paper and pencil		 Strategy through planning:

  • Participants write their short-term goals with a clear deadline.
  • Participants write their long-term goals.
  • Participants write their coping strategies in order to avoid relapse.
  • Participants create a bulleted plan to achieve their short-term objectives.
  • Participants exchange their plans randomly and anonymously.
  • Each participant is asked to critique and add input to each plan.
  • A counselor redistributes the plans to their initial writers.

Group efficacy assessment methods

Our group would use discussion and potency methods to assess the group’s efficacy. The discussion would be virtually and orally conducted among the members to ensure that each member’s contributions and ability are measured depending on their responses. In addition, the individual potential would be evaluated through the reactions and ability to handle events and situations whenever they occur in the group. These strategies assist us in determining the ability of our group to perform the tasks as expected by the clients and the medical examiners.

Recommendations

The addicted adult groups were then categorized into various small groups for easy intervention by our medical experts. Upon reviews and engagements, the addicts noted that most of them had been drug users for more than at least 15 years consistently. The percentage of drug abusers continues to grow annually as various adults resort to consuming these drugs frequently to cure their conditions. Most of the adults sampled who confirmed their addiction trend was taken for rehabilitation, as others were exposed to various medications different from the opioid injections. For proper intervention, our group made a follow-up list of all the affected adults, which we did every month to ensure that the affected population had the basics of medical remedies.

Counselors Expectations

The counselors are expected to perform their duties with dignity and ensure that the session is interactive and that clients give their views through a serene environment without coercion or forceful acts. In addition, the counselors are expected to give feedback on the session conducted regularly to their team leaders, and follow-ups are conducted with the clients.

Integration of ethical consideration and multicultural competencies

The ethical considerations that should be integrated during the session include confidentiality, secrecy, and privacy of information. The counselors are expected to keep the client’s information confidential and not inform any other person about the discussion with the client. The information provided by clients is expected to be held with privacy, and the counselor should always display the character of engaging the client to get full information about a condition. The multicultural competencies required in the counseling session include self-awareness, clients’ views, the relationship between the counselor and the clients, and advocacy interventions that counselors would always display wherever they are in sessions.

References

Center for Behavioral Health Statistics & Quality. (2019). . APA Journal.

Johnson, B. A. (2020). Addiction Medicine: Science and Practice. Elsevier.

Johnston, l., Miech, R., O’malley, P., & Bachman, R. (2019). Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use 1975-2018: Overview, key findings on adolescent drug use. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research. Web.

Weiss, A., Bailey, M., Barrett, M., Elixhauser, A., & Steiner, C. (2017). Patient characteristics of opioid-related inpatient stay and emergency department visit nationally and by state. HCUP Statistical Brief: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Web.

Wickramatilake, S., Zur, J., Mulvaney-Day, N., Klimo, M., & Harwood, H. (2017). . Public Health Reports, 132(2), 171-179.

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