The Need for Early Intervention and Early Prevention of Substance Abuse Disorders
by Dr. Roberto Sanchez, PsyD, LMHC
It is estimated that, in the United States, approximately 19.5 million people over the age of twelve abuse illegal drugs and 15 million people are alcohol dependent. Roughly 95% of the U.S. prison population has a moderate to severe drug and alcohol history.
Many parents, children and/or employer’s daily lives are affected by individuals with alcohol or substance abuse related disorders. Alcohol and drug abuse are estimated to cost billions of dollars with regard to health care costs, absenteeism from jobs, poor job performance and prison costs.
Each year nineteen thousand deaths occur due to drug addiction and it is estimated that alcohol abuse can be blamed for one hundred thousand deaths a year. These deaths are often underreported because the cause of death is attributed to other causes including circulatory and respiratory problems, fires and flames, suicides, accidental falls, auto accidents, and homicides, instead of the underlying cause of the alcohol or substance abuse.
This is why treatment by mental health professionals is vital to the identification and treatment of substance abuse disorders. Studies show that early intervention and more importantly prevention are the most effective and efficient forms of treatment for all medical and psychiatric disorders, including substance abuse disorders (SUD).
Alcohol abuse and substance abuse are often misdiagnosed by many mental health professionals because individuals with alcohol and substance abuse disorders often minimize or under report their frequency, duration, and amount of alcohol and substance abuse intake. Furthermore, substance abuse disorders (SUDs) often co-occur with mood disorders thereby causing the mental health professional to focus his/her clinical attention on the mood disorder and thus minimizing the underlying substance abuse disorder. Therefore, it is imperative for an individual who might suspect that he or she may be suffering from a substance abuse disorder to seek consultation from a mental health professional who has specific training, experience, or licensure to diagnose, treat and coordinate services for substance abuse disorders in order to get the appropriate treatment.
In my eighteen years of experience as a mental health professional working in community health centers, private psychiatric hospitals and forensic settings, it is clear to me that the need and emphasis for a more aggressive comprehensive treatment could greatly reduce overall health care costs, reduce prolonged suffering of individuals and their families, and improve the mental health of the overall U.S. population.
Therefore, identification, early intervention, and early prevention of this national epidemic is vital to the improvement of the overall health of the U.S. population and to the reduction of health care, job, and prison costs in the U.S.
If you or someone you love is in need of an evaluation or coordination for treatment, please call us at 305 926-9742.
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by Dr. Roberto Sanchez, PsyD, LMHC
It is estimated that, in the United States, approximately 19.5 million people over the age of twelve abuse illegal drugs and 15 million people are alcohol dependent. Roughly 95% of the U.S. prison population has a moderate to severe drug and alcohol history.
Many parents, children and/or employer’s daily lives are affected by individuals with alcohol or substance abuse related disorders. Alcohol and drug abuse are estimated to cost billions of dollars with regard to health care costs, absenteeism from jobs, poor job performance and prison costs.
Each year nineteen thousand deaths occur due to drug addiction and it is estimated that alcohol abuse can be blamed for one hundred thousand deaths a year. These deaths are often underreported because the cause of death is attributed to other causes including circulatory and respiratory problems, fires and flames, suicides, accidental falls, auto accidents, and homicides, instead of the underlying cause of the alcohol or substance abuse.
This is why treatment by mental health professionals is vital to the identification and treatment of substance abuse disorders. Studies show that early intervention and more importantly prevention are the most effective and efficient forms of treatment for all medical and psychiatric disorders, including substance abuse disorders (SUD).
Alcohol abuse and substance abuse are often misdiagnosed by many mental health professionals because individuals with alcohol and substance abuse disorders often minimize or under report their frequency, duration, and amount of alcohol and substance abuse intake. Furthermore, substance abuse disorders (SUDs) often co-occur with mood disorders thereby causing the mental health professional to focus his/her clinical attention on the mood disorder and thus minimizing the underlying substance abuse disorder. Therefore, it is imperative for an individual who might suspect that he or she may be suffering from a substance abuse disorder to seek consultation from a mental health professional who has specific training, experience, or licensure to diagnose, treat and coordinate services for substance abuse disorders in order to get the appropriate treatment.
In my eighteen years of experience as a mental health professional working in community health centers, private psychiatric hospitals and forensic settings, it is clear to me that the need and emphasis for a more aggressive comprehensive treatment could greatly reduce overall health care costs, reduce prolonged suffering of individuals and their families, and improve the mental health of the overall U.S. population.
Therefore, identification, early intervention, and early prevention of this national epidemic is vital to the improvement of the overall health of the U.S. population and to the reduction of health care, job, and prison costs in the U.S.
If you or someone you love is in need of an evaluation or coordination for treatment, please call us at 305 926-9742.
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