In the recent years, the problem of substance abuse has achieved tremendous scopes. The problem is of global importance and continues growing. In addition, substance abuse grows younger since adolescents as young as eleven years old start drinking alcohol and consuming drugs as well as other substances (Baldwin, Christian, Berkeljon, & Shadish, 2012). Thus, it is essential to take some measures in order to decrease the problem scopes.

One of the useful methods to deal with substance abuse is a brief therapy. The essence of this treatment is that the therapist searches for the strengths of the client to solve their addiction problem. The approach is mostly client-centered since the client identifies the problem, sets the goals of treatment and the treatment is held using their internal strengths and powers (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 1999). Such approach is usually used when the client understands that the addiction exists but not ready to conceive the abuse being a real problem influencing their life and the life of others (De Shazer et al., 2010). The goal of the brief therapy is the elimination of some problems related to the addiction. It is important to note that such treatment does not set the absolute recovery as a goal of the course. Instead, the main goal is to solve the most acute problems related to substance abuse and, as a result, provide a base for further recovery (De Shazer et al., 2010). As it can be seen, this type of treatment is very helpful for those who have no economic and social ability or patience to get a long-term treatment. Despite the short treatment period, the efficiency of the therapy is mostly the same as in long-term one (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 1999). Using everything mentioned above as a basis, this paper aims to develop a brief therapy plan and counseling activities for a participant having a substance abuse.

Participant

The client is 16-year-old Dylan, who is using drugs from the eleven-years-old age. First, he started drinking marijuana, but nowadays he prefers crack. Despite his preferences, he uses all the drugs he can reach. Because of his addiction, he has a severe problem with law. He was charged for possession, dealing and taking drugs. For the last three years, Dylan tried various interventions and therapies to treat his problem, but his attempts were fruitless since he continued using drugs. Despite the fact that the boy is an addict, he is a very pleasant person with an open smile. Thus, this makes people help dealing with his problem, in particular his probation officer, who tries to prevent Dylan from further complication of his law problems (McCollum, & Trepper, 2001).

Dylan’s drug problem has a solid base since his parents were using illegal substances as well. When he was a child, his mother was drinking alcohol every evening until she lost consciousness. However, the woman coped with a problem, and when Dylan was thirteen years old, she was already a healthy woman. The main factor influencing Dylan’s addiction was his father. He is an illicit drug user for already twenty years. He tried various therapies, but the only result was a reduction in doses and frequency of intakes. Thus, as it can be seen, Dylan’s addiction is a result of the family influence.

The family interactions always cause a scandal since parents are disappointed with the addiction of their son and are trying to eliminate this problem by punishment. However, this only leads to Dylan using again in order to reduce a stress reaction. In addition, the addiction history of his parent encourages a boy to use drugs. Dylan’s mother, as an example of addiction-free experience, tries to encourage the boy to follow her example, but her attempts become fruitless when her husband takes another dose. Thus, there are no family bonds and trust in the family since only mother tries to support her son, but it is useless until her husband stays an addict (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 1999).

Therapy

Basing on the family history, it is obvious that the brief family therapy is the most appropriate plan for Dylan’s treatment. The therapy would be helpful since the addiction is strongly influenced by the family members (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 1999). Thus, this treatment would help to eliminate the deviant influence of family members and create strong bonds with the parents that in future would have a positive effect on the addiction problem (Broderick, & Schrader, 2014). What is more, being a person who supports and worries about Dylan, the father can be involved to the treatment. Thus, the network therapy is chosen as an appropriate way to treat the client (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 1999). What is more, Dylan will take a treatment together with his father in order to repair their relations. The positive experience of his father would encourage the boy to stop using illegal substances. Furthermore, this therapy is considered as the most useful for goals set by Dylan before the treatment. Among such aims are the endeavors to improve the relations with father and to help him with his addiction problem, to reduce problems with the law and to create a strong family for further support in life.

The meeting with therapists would be held twice a week for a month, which means that the therapy comprises 8 sessions. The duration of each session would not exceed 1.5 hours. Such duration and frequency is usual for such approach and said to be the most suitable since relatively seldom sessions leave the time for the homework assignment and practicing (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 1999). On the opening session, the assessment of the problem is required. It is proposed to gather the information about the family in order to define the problem and to determine the most acute ones. In addition, the assessment is necessary for a determination of the clients’ goals and expectations of the treatment and its coincidence with the therapist’s methods and goals (Lewis, Dana, & Blevins, 2010).