Social Science - Sociology Assignment 5-2

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5

Needs Assessment for a Relapse Prevention Program

LAST WEEK ASSIGNMENT

March 22, 2026

Program Description

The change proposal that I present in the case of Still Waters Professional Counseling is Life Skills and Relapse Prevention Program of adults under substance use counseling. This is aimed at fixing the poor client engagement rates that I noted during field placement particularly among those who were required to attend counseling by the Department of Family and Children Services. Despite the numerous attendances of clients at their sessions, there are those who present low attendance, motivation and lack of coping skills outside counseling. The program would also involve role plays, guided discussions, weekly goal tracking, practice in triggers management and practice in routine building that would make the treatment more practical and action oriented. According to Dudley (2020), social work assessment is expected to reveal client issues and gaps in service. It is within that framework that this program would bring in additional structured and practical additions to assist clients by making counseling material translate into behavior change, which they need to practice on a daily basis.

Inclusion Criteria in the Program.

The target clientele would consist of adult clients who are already receiving substance use counseling in the agency. The first priority would be given to the clients that are court ordered or referred to Department of Family and Children Services, the clients with a specific behavior those results in relapse on a regular basis, and those clients that cannot always use the methods of coping without the sessions. The inclusion of these clients is due to the fact that they seem to require more than just traditional counseling. Their low attendance patterns imply that there is a discrepancy between the treatment attendance and the benefit of treatment. This at-risk population would be additional in terms of accountability, rehearsal, and support with the help of a structured skills-based program.

Justification for the Proposed Program

Semi structured interviews with clients that already receive substance use services is the first technique that I would utilize to collect credible information. Interviews would enable clients to explain the greatest problems they encounter when attempting to apply coping skills in their daily lives. Such an approach would offer in-depth information regarding the barriers in the form of low motivation, unstable routines, trigger exposure, and weak support systems. The needs assessment that incorporates the voices of the people affected by the service issue directly are more powerful (Ravaghi et al., 2023). This is why the interviews with clients would be a good source of first-hand evidence.

The second technique that I would employ is a short anonymous questionnaire that will be shared among clients and counselors. The client survey would help define the patterns regarding the obstacles to engagement, whereas the counselor survey would involve practice-based observations regarding service participation, risk of relapse, and unmet needs. The importance of using both groups is that the assignment requires the information of the clients and other stakeholders, and counselors are the major stakeholders in the planning and implementation of the program. The surveys would assist in understanding the prevalence of the problem within the agency and would supplement more profound information obtained with the help of interviews.

The two approaches are the best alternatives since interviews are in-depth and surveys are broad. They would then come up with credible evidence to support program development and implementation. It has been found that motivation, tangible assistance, and continuous involvement are core to substance use behavior change, which explains why a structured relapse prevention program and counseling should be implemented (Schwenker et al., 2023; Gaolaolwe et al., 2025). Such a strategy would reinforce the quality of the provided services and increase the likelihood of successful recovery in the clients in the long term.

References

Dudley, J. R. (2020). Social work evaluation: Enhancing what we do (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Gaolaolwe, W., Moagi, M. M., Kovane, G. P., & Sehularo, L. A. (2025). Exploration of effective substance use relapse prevention programmes for the youth: An integrative literature review. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 32(3), 661–679. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.13144

Ravaghi, H., Guisset, A.-L., Elfeky, S., Nasir, N., Khani, S., Ahmadnezhad, E., & Abdi, Z. (2023). A scoping review of community health needs and assets assessment: Concepts, rationale, tools and uses. BMC Health Services Research, 23, Article 44. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08983-3

Schwenker, R., Dietrich, C. E., Hirpa, S., Nothacker, M., Smedslund, G., Frese, T., & Unverzagt, S. (2023). Motivational interviewing for substance use reduction. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2023(12), CD008063. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD008063.pub3