Task 1. Read and translate the text: Addiction Social Worker

Addiction is a complex disease that presents enormous challenges not only for addicts, but also for their caregivers. Their craving for drugs easily overruns addicts' weakened willpower and causes relapses, but dedicated addiction social workers stick with their clients, helping them get back on track.

People who choose to become addiction social workers have a special interest in providing that help. They are knowledgeable, compassionate professionals and demonstrate the unfailing commitment addicts need to work through the difficult times.

While many addiction social workers work in community clinics and hospitals, there are many opportunities to work in specialized outpatient addiction programs offered both by state human services departments and by private behavioral health clinics. Increasingly, addiction social workers find positions in larger drug rehabilitation facilities where residents participate in long-term programs.

Addiction social workers are typically the frontline helpers in their clients' struggles with addiction. Their participation in the treatment of addicts is a complicated process requiring a high degree of skill, patience, understanding and a commitment to helping patients recover.

Understanding that the foundation of addiction stems from traumatic life issues, addiction social workers help addicts address the complex psychological issues that arise in therapy. As counselors, they actively listen and provide the knowledgeable guidance, support, and reassurance clients need to recover.

Addiction social workers often work as part of multidisciplinary teams of health care providers. Teams typically include psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed counselors, nurses, and addiction social workers. Each member contributes his or her expertise in developing patient care plans based on individual assessments, and each participates in various aspects of clients' care.

Addiction social workers' initial assessments are not only focused on the level and the nature of clients' substance use, but also on uncovering any social issues that might contribute to their addictions. These include concerns such as unemployment, education, the client’s current living situation and family background, financial status, language, cultural, or racial concerns, involvement in gangs, violent behavior, or criminal activities. This therapeutic profile is the foundation for the care plan that will chart the patient's path to sobriety.

Care plans describe the treatments developed by the multidisciplinary team. These treatments consist of needed therapies, lifestyle recommendations such as living arrangements or special facilities, goals for evaluating progress, and any medications prescribed by the psychiatrist or physician.

Working with their interdisciplinary teams, addiction social workers help establish goals as part of clients’ treatment plans. A goal might be to complete a particular series of therapeutic sessions or to enter into a particular kind of treatment center or group home. Goals are not only important to the team, but they also give clients an important sense of accomplishment.

Addiction social workers are typically responsible for the administration and management of client case files, maintaining full documentation of the treatments, service providers, case details, and client progress. They are responsible for updating team members with any information that might require their attention or intervention.

Addiction social workers spend much of their time monitoring and directing services for clients, which includes executing directives by physicians, psychiatrists, or other therapists. They are responsible for making the arrangements so patients can be effectively treated. Depending on clients' current situations, this could include finding the right rehabilitation facilities, enrolling them in the right therapeutic sessions, making outpatient arrangements, finding transportation, or arranging day care for their children. It might also include helping clients apply for food stamps, low-income housing, or financial assistance.

Task 2. Study the following word-combinations.

Addiction – зависимость (наркотическая, к лекарственным препаратам, алкоголю), пристрастие; food stamp – продуктовая карточка, продовольственный талон (дающий право на бесплатное продовольствие или по льготным ценам); low-income housing – жилье для малоимущих; craving – влечение; to overrun – превышать; to stick with – продолжать усердно работать с; drug rehabilitation facility – центр по лечению наркотической зависимости; family background – наследственность, семейный анамнез; case file – материалы дела/истории болезни; to update sb with information – предоставлять обновленную информацию.

Task 3. Match the English and Russian equivalents.

1. dedicated	A.сила воли
2. willpower	B. неизменная приверженность
3. to get back on track	C. вносить вклад
4. unfailing commitment	D. выявлять
5. to stem from	E. чувство удовлетворения
6. reassurance	F. преданный своему делу
7. to contribute	G. наметить путь
8. to uncover	H. трезвость, воздержанность
9. to chart a path	I. вернуться на путь истинный
10. sobriety	J. быть вызванным, следствием чего-либо
11. sense of accomplishment	K. подбадривание, ободрение

Task 4. Match the equivalents.

1. to present a challenge	A. to go through
2. addiction	B. to handle
3. compassionate	C. to occur
4. to work through	D. to manage
5. position	E. craving
6. to address	F. to fulfill
7. to arise	G. sympathetic
8. expertise	H. present
9. assessment	I. to pose a problem
10. to monitor	J. job
11. to direct	K. to control
12. to execute	L. competence
13. to make arrangements	M. evaluation
14. current	N. to organize

Task 5. Match the opposites.

1. knowledgeable	A. simple
2. outpatient	B. employment
3. long-term	C. ignorant
4. complicated	D. enhanced
5. patience	E. short-term
6. sobriety	F. to hide
7. unemployment	G. inpatient
8. weakened	H. addiction
9. to uncover	I. impatience

Task 6. Answer the following questions to the text:

1. Where do addiction social workers find jobs? 2. What do addiction social workers do? 3. What factors are assessed before providing assistance to drug addicts? 4. Who develops a care plan for treating people with addictions? 5. Why is it important to set a definite goal before the treatment? 6. What does case management involve?

Task 7. There are a number of substances and activities that a person can become addicted to, but are you familiar with the 9 most common addictions? Take a look at this list of addictions and match their descriptions with their names. Say which of them are most common in your area and which are most/more/less dangerous. Use the pattern:

… is common/uncommon in our area. I believe/In my opinion/To my mind, it is the most dangerous addiction of all/it is less/more dangerous than… .

List of addictions:

Internet addiction; shopping; alcohol addiction; drug addiction; work addiction; gambling; smoking food addiction; video games.

1. __________________

Alcohol is readily available, and a legal substance for adults to use. Prolonged or excessive use can lead to a problem with addiction. Use of alcohol in relatively small amounts can impair an individual's ability to drive a motor vehicle safely, and is a factor in crimes involving violence, including spousal and child abuse.

2. __________________

Technically, a smoker is not addicted to cigarettes, but rather the nicotine they contain. This highly-addictive substance is the reason why smoking is such a difficult habit to give up.

3. ______________________

Drug addiction includes both illegal substances and legal drugs. The problem is the same, whether your drug of choice is readily available by prescription or not.

4. _____________________

Many people enjoy participating in a game of chance in hope of winning some money or another prize. When it becomes a compulsive activity that the individual is unable to stop, despite the fact that continuing to gamble is creating problems, that is a sign that the person has become addicted to gambling.

5. _____________________

Food is something that we all need to survive, and eating should be an enjoyable experience. A food addict is unable to control his or her eating during certain times and uses food as a way to deal with feelings of sadness, depression, or anxiety.

6. ______________________

A video game addict plays video games to the extent that this activity intrudes on his or her life. The most addictive video games are the ones where players assume the identity of a character in the game and are able to interact with other players.

7. ______________________

The Internet can be a wonderful resource. We can look for information, read news and blogs, and interact virtually with people from all over the world. We can do our banking and shop online as well. Internet use turns into Internet addiction when an individual wants to be online all the time. If you feel anxious or upset when you are not able to be online, it may be a sign that you have developed an Internet addiction.

8. __________________________

For some people, compulsive shopping is an all-too-real problem. They use this activity as a way to deal with emotional and other problems in their lives. This excessive shopping may lead to financial problems, as well as relationship issues with the compulsive shopper's spouse or partner.

9. ________________________

The last entry on this list is one that may be considered a good thing: work. Hard work is generally something that people admire and many parents teach their children that it is the key to getting what they want out of life. When work becomes an obsession, it is a problem. If you get to the point where you can't stop working and thinking about work when you are supposed to be off the job, it may be a sign that your dedication has turned into an addiction.