Levels of Care
Work addiction just like any other form of addiction, it does create mental health problems for the affected individual. However, if treatment is adopted then one can be able to overcome this. Due to this, there are various levels of treatment that are known for treating substance use disorders and other addictions. This paper will highlight the most appropriate level of treatment for treating work addiction. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) recognizes four separate levels of care. Out of the four levels of care, the ideal level of care for work addiction is outpatient treatment.
Outpatient Treatment
The four levels of care recognized by ASAM are outpatient treatment, intensive outpatient (IOP) and partial hospitalization program (PHP), medically monitored inpatient (residential) treatment, and medically managed inpatient treatment (Brooks & McHenry, 2015). The first level which is outpatient treatment allows clients to seek or receive treatment while living at their homes. This level of treatment can be provided in any setting for instance, in the office. However, it should be noted that some professional addiction personnel is tasked to enable the client to abstain 100% from a given addiction or behavior.
On the other hand, level 2 is slightly different from level 1 although it also allows the client to be treated while residing at his or her home. The key difference between the two levels is that in level 2 the client is provided with a vital educational addiction program and treatment components (Brooks & McHenry, 2015). Partial hospital program is distinct from intensive outpatient treatment based on the intensity of clinical services that are provided (Mee-Lee, 2013). Level 3 which is the inpatient program has got four sublevels that are made up of a range of services that are instituted in the program. The major feature that unites all these services is the residential setting that is usually staffed 24 hours who provide care for the clients or patients.
Lastly, level 4 is usually considered for those who have biomedical, behavioral, and emotional cognitive conditions that seem to be critical and do require medical or nursing care (Mee-Lee, 2013). Under this level, patients do receive direct care from their assigned professional physician whose role is to ensure that he or she does make treatment decisions with the patient.
Rule Out Reasons
Firstly, the level 2 treatment goal is to provide a supportive network and this is not ideal in treating mental health disorders, which arises as a result of work addiction. On the other hand, level 3’s main treatment goal is medication management (Mee-Lee, 2013). However, in the case of work addiction, in most instances, there are no medications that are used but rather the patient working for a long period. In other words, being a workaholic. Besides, the therapies involved in level three are keen on enabling the patient or client to manage substance use symptoms. Generally, level 3 is aimed at treating symptoms and avoiding relapse in the case of substance use treatment (Mee-Lee, 2013). Lastly, level 4 treatment is ideal for patients who have biomedical, behavioral, and emotional cognitive conditions that seem to be critical and does require medical or nursing care (Mee-Lee, 2013). Therefore, in the case of work addiction, this is not the case given that the individual does not happen to indicate such features that tend to be critical.
Clinical Justification for Outpatient Treatment
This level of treatment is ideal in treating work addiction since such a disorder is less severe compared to other disorders such as substance use which at times it may be severe to the extent of managing it through detoxification (Brooks & McHenry, 2015). Besides, the victim will also have to manage other issues such as withdrawal. However, the key clinical justification for outpatient treatment is its treatment goal which is to enable the patient to manage changes that would enable him or her to cope with the impacts of work addiction, in that, one is unable to cope with another life task without immersing himself or herself in tasks. It should be noted that most workaholics, for them to cope with stress or other life tasks they do work for a long period to overcome these issues and in the end, it becomes addictive.
Also, given that the condition is not that severe there is no need to consider other levels of treatments, especially levels 3 and 4 given that it involves placing a patient in a residential setting with 24-hour staff care. However, in the case of outpatient treatment, it is provided less than 9 hours weekly, and this can be set up during the weekend or at the end of work shift, and as a result, it makes it easier to employ several therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as well as the Rational Emotional Behavior Therapy (REBT).
Besides, it also enables flexibility as patients can maintain the usual working hours. The patients can be set to share their addiction within a group while in the end the counselor or psychologists happens to deal with the patient at the individual level (Brooks & McHenry, 2015). Working in groups enables the patients to come up with the appropriate coping measures in the case of CBT in managing their maladaptive cognition or thoughts (Ridgway & Williams, 2011). On the other hand, in the case of REBT, problem-solving skills can also be shared and adopted within the group counseling sessions as members can come up with solutions that have enabled them to overcome their work addiction (Dryden, 2005). Generally, through group counseling, many coping skills are shared among the members.
Conclusion
While the four levels of treatment are ideal for treating substance use and several addictions, level 1, that is, outpatient treatment is the most ideal for treating working addiction. The reason behind this specificity is because of its main treatment goal which is to enable patients to achieve changes in their addictive behaviors as well as addressing issues that are likely to undermine their potential move coping with other life tasks due to their addictions. On the other hand, the other level is keen on managing symptoms and enabling a patient to avoid relapse. Besides, given the appropriateness of level 2 treatment in terms of its settings, that is, a session less than 9 hours weekly, therefore, enabling the patients to maintain their working schedules.
References
Brooks, F., & McHenry, B. (2015). A contemporary approach to substance use disorders and addiction counseling. John Wiley & Sons.
Dryden, W. (2005). Rational emotive behavior therapy. In Encyclopedia of cognitive behavior therapy. Springer.
Mee-Lee, D. (2013). The ASAM criteria. Chevy Chase, MD: American Society of Addiction Medicine.
Ridgway, N., & Williams, C. (2011). Cognitive behavioural therapy self-help for depression: an overview. Journal of Mental Health, 20(6), 593-603.