Interview

I conducted my interview with Brenda Robinson, an employee at Philhaven. She strictly deals with Alcohol addiction and the treatment plans for it.

They usually outsource their clients to various 12-step meetings, although there are many meetings held at the Philhaven Campus. The reason for outsourcing many is because of the distance between home and Philhaven. Finding areas that are for less travel make it easier on the clients. However, it is STRONGLY encouraged that they attend the meetings at Philhaven as frequently as possible. This is due to the relationship the client and patient have developed and the continuity in the treatment plan. There are inpatient and outpatient treatments depending on the severity. If they have been deemed a hazard to themselves or to society, inpatient treatment is often the route chosen.

They focus primarily on treating and educating their clients about the effects alcohol can have not only on themselves, but also their families. As stated previously, they do provide direct care, but was not told if they help with the medicine at all.

Brenda was able to give me a ballpark range of the number of people they treat annually. Their alcohol addiction unit is small and serve only somewhere between 500-700 people annually. Most of the development in the organization have stuck to mostly the typical mental illnesses (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc.).

Brenda reiterated how restrained they are by legal and ethical standards. She could not go into detail about these certain guidelines because of one of those very legal/ethical standards. She could tell me, however, that they HEAVILY influence the way they treat their clients and even said sometimes it really inhibits the process.

The one question I asked her directly pertained to the Legal/Ethical Guidelines: "Do you feel these guidelines and liability legal laws inhibit you from providing the best care?"

-She went on to say that in an ideal world she would do these things much differently, but an idealistic world is not realistic. She prefers a different way to go about treatment, but the results have shown that this way is just as effective, although maybe a longer process.

I believe all of this information is what we'd expect from what we've learned in class so far. Whether it be their treatment options, how they treat them, or the legal/ethical implications, it covers a lot of what we already have in class. I thought this was a very rewarding experience because it provided application to the in-class material that we had been covering. I am very glad I did this and learned about their organization and a little about Brenda herself.

Overall, I am appreciative of this opportunity.