This chapter began with explaining the definition of use, misuse, abuse, and dependence which is very important to know since it helps mental health professionals in determining the appropriate intervention for each client. I feel this topic must be explained in a chapter alone because I also belong to a religious group and I know how these terms are confused. This chapter also focused on the assessment which is important for all mental health professionals not only to gather information, but also to avoid misdiagnosing client problems. The critical part of the assessment process is the psychosocial history which involves various areas that need to be assessed: AOD use history, family history, social history, legal history, educational history, occupational history, and medical history. The text also emphasized on the signs and symptoms of adolescent substance abuse which are important to determine the possible existence of AOD problem. However, before making any …show more content…
It also discussed why people begin taking drugs as well as the factors that could increase the risk of addiction. Early use is one of these factors that impact the brain development and lead to serious abuse. Therefore, adolescent is considered a critical time for prevention drug addiction. The second part focused on how drugs change the way our brain work, for example marijuana and heroin are working by activating neurons. The medical consequences of addiction, such as lung and cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cancer are also discussed. Although addiction is a brain disease, it can be treated and relapsing to drug abuse does not mean the treatment failure. This article is worth reading because it is a comprehensive article that concentrates on important information on