Work with people with addictive manifestations in the work of the psychological department of SBI "Service -112"

People with addictive manifestations often come into contact with emergency services in a state of emotional destabilization caused by withdrawal syndrome, intoxication, or concomitant mental disorders. In such cases, there is marked anxiety, decreased criticality to one's own condition, a tendency to manipulative behavior, affective reactions, as well as the presence of suicidal thoughts or intentions.

The psychologist is forced to rely solely on verbal and preverbal signs (tonality, tempo and intonation of speech, the nature of statements) to diagnose the level of crisis, the degree of danger and the choice of intervention tactics.

 Features of the condition of a subscriber with addictive manifestations in a crisis moment:

1) Emotional instability.
2) Reducing criticality towards one's own personality and behavior.
3) Narrowing the scope of interests and focusing on the "here and now".
4) Verbal signs of cognitive impairment.
5) Manipulative and affective interaction strategies.
6) The presence of suicidal thoughts and tendencies.
7) Disorientation in space and time, especially during psychoactive intoxication. This makes it difficult to collect information and forecast further developments.

 Due to the above-mentioned characteristics of the subscriber's condition, the work of the psychological department has the following features:

1) Relying solely on verbal contact.
2) Prioritize a quick assessment of the threat level.
3) Mineralization of the risk of escalation of the condition.
4) Structuring the conversation and creating a sense of security.
5) Clear separation of roles and boundaries.
6) A high degree of endurance and stress resistance of a specialist.
7) Difficulties in collecting adequate information.

Thus, crisis response to calls from people with addictive manifestations is characterized by the need to adapt interaction algorithms and increased psychological readiness of specialists to work with non-standard and emotionally stressful situations. The effectiveness of the psychological department in this context is determined by the ability to reduce the risk to the subscriber's health, structure support as briefly and clearly as possible, and promptly decide on the involvement of additional emergency response resources.