Ashleigh Gilbreath HSE-350 Southern New Hampshire University May 14, 2024 2-2 Journal: Personal Reactions to Joe Smith Mr. Smith's culture of abuse started at a very young age. Some of his earliest memories are of his mother turning a blind eye to the mistreatment from his father and sexual abuse at the hands of his uncle, who lived with him. With this abuse starting at such a young age, Smith began to think he deserved it. While in school Mr. Smith built a relationship with a counselor. Sadly, this trust was broken when the counselor had to report the abuse that happened. This formed the basis of mistrust and bias against counselors. This mistrust was further ingrained when the report of abuse only seemed to make things worse for him. Mr. Smith reports that his substance abuse is increasing. Starting at the age of 14 with alcohol and progressing to "H" (heroin) injected intravenously. It is important to note that Mr. Smith contradicts himself with this history claiming he doesn't drink by stating "Never touch the stuff. Didn't want to end up like my parents, so I don't touch the stuff." One of the biggest things that stands out in this history is that Joe recognizes his traumas. I also feel that while he acknowledges the impact abuse had on his life, he can take responsibility for his actions. At one point he states "I just didn't try hard. Like I said before, I knew I could be
much more successful on the street selling, and it would take less time" about getting fired from his place of employment. He did not blame this on his employer or even his parents. On the road to recovery, relapsing is not a failure, it is a stumbling block. It is ok to relapse while trying to reach sobriety and, in my opinion, it is a necessity. That may sound counterintuitive, but relapsing often shows us a place we do not want to return to and helps us keep reaching for our goals. Joe has a good chance of recovery if he is willing to put in the work. Recovery does not come easy, and it appears Mr. Smith has been fighting for quite some time. The assessment looks straightforward to fill out, the only major issue would be getting the information from the clients.