Article
Teaching social workers about substances use problems via temporary abstinence from normal mood-altering behavior.
Journal of Teaching in Social Work
(2007)
Abstract
Social work students enrolled in a graduate-level course in substance abuse (N = 450, over nine years) assessed their own “mood-altering” behaviors (i.e., stress-reduction strategies and leisure-time activities), abstained from one or more of these activities for one week, then completed a written summary of their personal bio-psycho-social experiences. Student papers indicate significant personal insights were gained regarding alcohol and other drug (AOD) issues, and also provide grounded-theory support for major AOD themes. This paper describes the details of this experientially based teaching strategy, and also summarizes AOD themes that emerged from student experiences, including anticipatory reward, substitution, craving, willpower, impaired control, rationalization, shame, guilt, powerlessness, and the challenges of change.
Keywords
- Alcohol and other drugssubstance abuse,
- social work education,
- experiential learning,
- mood\-altering
Disciplines
Publication Date
2007
Citation Information
Paul Caldwell. "Teaching social workers about substances use problems via temporary abstinence from normal mood-altering behavior." Journal of Teaching in Social Work Vol. 27 Iss. 1-2 (2007) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/paul_caldwell/6/