Remaining unbiased is pivotal to a substance abuse professional’s success. Discrimination comes in many shades. Taking an issue with or treating someone differently because of their age, economic condition, gender, handicap, national ancestry, race, religion, or sexual orientation constitutes discrimination. Per the Ethical Principles of Conduct all substance abuse professionals adhere to, we are not to discriminate on any basis prohibited by federal or state law. But non-discrimination means a lot more than remaining on the right side of the law.
The Stigma Surrounding Substance Abuse Treatment
If you awake to the symptoms of the flu, what do you do? You take a flu-fighting medicine to help you get through the day. If symptoms worsen or fail to improve, you go to the doctor for help. Sounds reasonable, right? If you’re sick, you get help.
Addicts are often scorned by communities. They are exploited, hounded, and singled out as the cause of their problems. For an addict or substance abuser, getting help is tough. Not only do they battle their own insecurities and fears, but they fight a stigma deeply engrained in society.
Says TheFix.com, “Despite widespread agreement that addiction is best understood as a complicated behavioral-biological scenario that requires treatment, the system is hard-wired to prolong stigmatization…”
Stigmatization stops many from seeking treatment, but it can also harm those in recovery. Labels like “once an addict, always an addict” cast suspicion on those in recovery, making recovery from dependency even more difficult.
Non-Discrimination Combats Stigma
For substance abuse professionals, discrimination can appear in non-traditional ways. For example, while you may never discriminate against a client because of their gender, age, or race, you might unknowingly discriminate based on their substance abuse history. Here are three scenarios to be on guard against:
- Discrimination of Progress: Everyone recovers at their own It’s easy to treat a client differently in a negative manner if their recovery appears too fast or too long.
- Discrimination of History: A client has had previous substance problems. They’ve been in a treatment program more than once. It’s easy to think they won’t make lasting progress and don’t deserve dedication of time and resources.
- Discrimination of Attitude: We’ve all had the client that has a bad attitude. They don’t want to be in our office, and it’s obvious the only reason they are seeing us is that the law demanded it. It’s easy to let this attitude change the manner in which you treat that client.
Substance abuse professionals have the ability to enact change. How we treat our clients can greatly impact the outcome of their treatment. Always endeavor to focus on the positives. People can surprise us, and just because their progress, history, or attitude are not lent to success does not mean they will benefit any more or less from our patience, empathy, and professional ingenuity.
You are tasked with providing equal assistance to all. Strive always to uphold non-discrimination in all that you do. No matter the ethical challenges you face, you can succeed.