14 Full of empty promises? An exploration of the positive intention of drug use for the individual (71)

Jane Graham, Community Mental Health Nurse, South Wrekin CMHT/Dept Social Work, South Staffordshire and Shropshire NHS Foundation Trust and University of Central Lancashire, Telford, United Kingdom
janehelengraham@yahoo.co.uk

Abstract:

The poster presentation will demonstrate an overview of research currently being undertaken which aims to holisitically explore the positive intention of drug use for the individual. The empirical component of this research was undertaken in 2006.

Traditional literature on drug use tends to focus on:
• The negative effects of drug use (at all levels)
• Treatment options for drug users
• Efforts to understand why people take drugs
• Socio-Political factors of drug use
• Knowing why a behaviour occurs is often not enough for the individual to change it

With approximately 181,390 individuals currently in drug treatment, a figure which has more than doubled since 1999, there is a need to understand what drug use gets for the individual. Khantzian’s theory of self-medication is utilised to explore the positive intention of drug use for the individual. This theory has to date almost exclusively been applied to intrapsychic and biological domains. Here the researcher also considers self-medication within a social and spiritual framework. Interesting findings are emerging from the study around the experience of ‘emptiness’ and ‘fullness’ which may be understood as part of a spiritual Self-medication. Here the researcher utilises film as a medium which allows respondents’ direct utterances to be heard by an audience, bringing the data to life and affording the audience access to words which are often lost in publication. Film has been used in this poster display to offer an opportunity for the audience to use their preferred way of taking in information. Many individuals prefer a visual, auditory or kinaesthetic experience, rather than purely accessing information by reading. It is hoped that a multimedia approach will assist the audience in engaging with both the study and the data in a way most comfortable to them.

Biography:

Jane Graham is a trained counsellor, and a community mental health nurse, currently working in secondary level services. She has a specialist clinical interest in drug use. Jane was awarded a Lancashire Priory Nursing Award in both 2002 and 2004. She is currently reading for a PhD in Social Work at University of Central Lancashire, and is in her final year of study. Jane has had articles published in peer reviewed scientific journals and presented at several international conferences.