FIELD WORK REPORT

ORGANIZATION:
HIGHER POWER FOUNDATION

Submitted by- Submitted to-

Name: Jeysi Thomas Dr. Kiran N.C
Reg.No: 19PS101024 Dept. of Psychology
Kristu Jayanti College Kristu Jayanti College
 FIELD WORK REPORT
Higher Power Foundation
Addiction Treatment Center
DAY: - 1 DATE: - 17/12/19

DIRECT HOURS: - INDIRECT HOURS: -

SUMMARY REPORT: -
Today was the first day of my field work, at Higher Power Foundation, Bangalore . I
reported at 9 am and had a session with the site supervisor Mr. Abdullah from 9 to 11am,
who explained about his drug addiction which started as a result of addiction to reading
books, and his experience in his youth and the struggles he faced in the process of recovering,
being born and brought up in Maldives, smuggling drugs into the country, being arrested, and
ending in rehabilitation in order to escape from imprisonment. He is currently a divorcee,
with a 13 year old daughter.
From 11:30am to 1:00pm, I attended a group session of the drug and alcohol addicts
here, where a senior group leader, who himself was an addict before, shared his experience
and his thoughts of how people, especially in their youth are very curious and want to explore
everything and indulge in drugs and alcohol, either as an escape medium from stress or an
adventurous experience, or to conform to their peers. He talked about the loneliness that
addicts face when they see themselves being judged by people and being avoided by those
who used to be close to them, because of their addiction. It doesn’t matter how many years of
rehabilitation he addicts go through, but the shadow of the drug or alcohol still follows them,
and it makes the journey of recovery slippery to maintain. But the leader constantly
motivated his fellow inmates, not to lose hope and motivate themselves not to react or fall
aprey to the thoughts of the shadows of the drugs or alcohols and to constantly strive to make
their loved ones proud.
Post lunch, I had the opportunity to interact with a patient and gather information
about his case history.

LEARNING OUTCOME: -
I learned that addiction is a disease and it doesn’t always start directly with alcohol or
drugs. It can start with something so harmless, like reading books. If parents are drug or
alcohol users, their children will have the similar traits in them but not everyone who has the
trait will develop into substance abusers. It depends on the environmental factors that their
lives are accustomed to and it depends on their choice if they want to develop the habit of
substance abuse.

CASE STUDY 1

Name: S.D

Age: 25 years

Native: Goa

The patient had undergone a depressing and harsh childhood, where being the only
child, parents’ divorce when he was just 2 years old, had taken a drastic toll on his life, which
made him develop insecurity, trust issues and chaos . He constantly thought that he was the
only one going through these situations. His father was always harsh and violent and an
alcoholic and drug user, who frequently fought with his mother and himself and thrashed
them, which led the patient to develop hatred towards him (usage of harsh words to describe
father). On the other hand, his mother was always affectionate towards him and so he grew
more close to her and developed attraction and attention towards females but not males. His
grandmother was an influential parental figure who cared for him.
In his adolescent years, he was a very curious teenager and excessive pocket money
granted by his parents was an important factor that made him feel that he belonged only in
elite settings and environments and could afford what other children his age couldn’t. This
paved way to his exploration of drugs, as he did not want to be just “normal” like everyone
else. He also looked up to such habits from senior students in his school, who also made
availability of drugs easy for him.
Substance abuse has taken a toll on his life in various instances. He recalled that in
11th grade, his aggressive behavior, drug usage and his insecurities of his parents’ divorce
caused him to be suspicious of any person who becomes a part of his life, which also affected
a serious relationship that he shared with a girl, whom he accused and judged to be someone
who would cheat on him. In 2014, he met with an accident, which caused him heavy injuries
to his legs, including surgeries to place rods inside them . Heavy continuous usage of drugs,
especially cocaine, has caused side effects to him like drowsiness, darkening of
lips,tightening and stiffening of nerve muscles on the right side of his face and jaws which
has made it difficult for him to open his mouth completely.
The patient is also an only child and the constant attention and dependence that he
laid on his parent and maids has caused him to be fully dependent always on others and he
lacks adaptability and adjustment skills to go to new places, due to which he refused to accept
a job offer in Mumbai after his MBA as he also feared that if he would get caught due to his
drugs usage by the police, he wouldn’t be able to call anyone or reach anyone for help. He
used to work in a casino in Goa, as he used to invest a lot of time in gambling and later
became an executive there for client interaction earning a well off salary.
He was brought for the first time, to this addiction center, without the knowledge of his
mother, by his father, and uncle, with whom he had rivalry and conflict. The second time ,
after his post graduate studies, he came willingly to the center and intends to lead a better life
once he leaves, as he claims, in January
The site supervisor reported to me that the client has been showing a good deal of
aggressive behavior and constant need and dependence on his phone and claims to go back to
his casino job, owing to which, the center wants to hold him until February.

FACULTY SUPERVISOR SIGNATURE

 FIELD WORK REPORT
Higher Power Foundation
Addiction Treatment Center
DAY: - 2 DATE: - 7/1/2020

DIRECT HOURS: - 4 INDIRECT HOURS: -3

SUMMARY REPORT: -
I reported at 9 am and had a session with the site supervisor Mr. Abdullah and Dr. Gambo
who runs this de addiction centre. I had an interactive session with them, regarding their
experiences with the clients and also regarding the characteristic deficits, both physical and
mental and traits, and ways to probe the clients to make them open up about their feelings
from 9am to 11am, and from 11am to 1pm, I had a class to learn about the Narcotics
Anonymous, a group of people who build daily reflections and recovery plan for narcotics
addicts. The addicts are taught to believe in “GOD” which unlike our usual concept of a
supernatural being, in various religious beliefs, to them, means “Good Orderly Directions”,
by which the team of doctors and psychologists there try to imbibe in the addicts, the sense
that anyone and anything that sets good advices, good choices or good directions, can be seen
as a form of God.
I learnt about the thoughts and feelings sessions where the aim of the psychologist or
therapist should be to let the client acknowledge and realize his/her emotions and to make
them feel powerless. An important step that is focused upon here in this de addiction centre is
that the addicts should feel powerless over their alcohol or drugs addiction and that they
should understand that their lives have become unmanageable and so should willingly come
for recovery and want to change their lifestyle.

LEARNING OUTCOME: -
I learned that addiction is a disease in which, unlike other mental disorders in which
people accept their disorders or conditions and are ready to take up medication when
assigned to them, addicts are not ready to admit and accept that they are dying or that their
lives have been destroyed by the addiction . They don’t want to control it rather they want to
conquer it and resort to the feelings of a trans like state that they experience, when they take
in narcotics , drugs or alcohol.

FACULTY SUPERVISOR SIGNATURE

 FIELD WORK REPORT
Higher Power Foundation
Addiction Treatment Center
DAY: - 3 DATE: - 21/1/2020

DIRECT HOURS: - 7 INDIRECT HOURS: -

SUMMARY REPORT: -
I reported at 9 am . I had a session on the lack of manageability faced by the addicts when
they realize that drugs and alcohol use make their lives unmanageable. It leads them to act in
dangerous ways and affect others as well as themselves. It affects their financial situation and
also makes them more selfish and ego centric, thereby making them self centered. Usage of
drugs or alcohol often do demand them to break the law, thereby putting themselves and their
families in danger. Furthermore, it takes a toll on their bodies and their minds, destroying
them beyond the capacity of recovery.
LEARNING OUTCOME: -
I learned about the effects and impact caused by drugs and alcohol on the addcit’s life
as well as of his/her family’s.
Case Study 2
Name: A. S
Age: 34 years old
Native: Maldives

The client has been born into the royal family of Maldives, into a family of 10 members,
including his father, mother and 7 siblings, whose family was dethroned . As a child, the
client claims to have had intellectual skills and was able to complete his schooling by the age
of 13, according to Cambridge curriculum. On being exposed to drugs both by his brothers
and from other gangs in the country, he started to use cocaine and heroin and also went to be
a gang leader and one of the main suppliers of these drugs in his country and was one of the
three smugglers who brought these drugs into Maldives.
The client has been arrested many times and imprisoned and has even escaped and let other
prisoners free, which caused a riot by the policemen, shooting 11 of the prisoners , who tried
to escape along with him. He divorced his wife after two years of marriage as she was 18
years younger than him and wanted him to be with her most of the time, which the client
could not abide by. He explained that he is someone who likes to control others and not be
controlled. He has a daughter out of wedlock, with his girlfriend, whom he refers to as his
fiancée, although he says that he does not have a close relationship with her. He finds himself
to be a bad influence and is afraid that his daughter may get into trouble if she stays with him
and so has minimum connections with her.
Throughout the session, the client seemed proud to have smuggled drugs into the country and
for being arrested . He seems to have exercised a lot of power back in his native country,
which makes him feel that he can exercise the same amount of power here too. He also said
that he does not have any regret for his past actions and the consequences that were not just
faced by him, but by others too.

FACULTY SUPERVISOR SIGNATURE

 FIELD WORK REPORT
Higher Power Foundation
Addiction Treatment Center
DAY: - 3 DATE: - 28/1/2020

DIRECT HOURS: - 6 INDIRECT HOURS: -1

SUMMARY REPORT: -
I reported at 9 am . I attended the group session on denial and how addicts keep believing
that there is nothing wrong with them, which delays their recovery process. Many clients
shared their personal experiences and how they experienced denial. Most of them enjoyed
social drinking, which paved way to their addiction. The session lecturer, Mr. Govind also
explained that resentment and anger are signs of relapse and should be dealt with very
carefully . Mind control and will power are essential to tackle the problem of relapse or else,
addicts can never recover. Other topics that were included are PAWS (Post acute withdrawal
symptoms), Tunnel vision, Relapse syndrome, etc.
LEARNING OUTCOME: -
I learned about denial, which is a major cause of why addicts are not ready to approach for
help and get the help that they need. I also learned about HALT( hunger, anger, loneliness
and tiredness) which denotes the internal causes for drug or alcohol use.
Case Study 3
Name: J.C
Age: 29 years old
Native: Tibet

The client is a medical student, originally from Tibet, who had to migrate at the age of 10
years, to Nepal. He started drinking alcohol during his college times, with his friends, where
after four years, he started having alcohol himself .
His father was tortured in the Tibetian prison and died there, because of which he had to
migrate at the age of 10, along with his mother. They were forced to leave his sister who was
a baby at that time, with his father’s relatives in Tibet itself. He continued to emphasize on
the fact that he has a wonderful supportive family and has always tried to bottle up his
feelings and worries, just so that he doesn’t worry them but has been constantly reassured by
his mother that the family will be there for him through everything. He wants to make them
proud and wants to repay their kindness by being serious doctor and practising medicine
loyally and righteously, wants to quit drinking and is mostly sure that he will not be tempted
to drink when he sees his friends drink.
He aims to bring his mother from USA where she currently works as a Chinese teacher and
his sister who plans to pursue her studies inn Australia, to live wth him under one room and
re-establish the feeling of family He also seemed to feel guilty that his alcohol addiction
made him waste many years and brought him to rehabilitation centre, further wasting his
years, as he remembers that his batchmates have all got their degree certificates and have
started practicing as licensed doctors. The patient seems to be in a good and stable mind,
according to the rehabilitation centre authorities too.

FACULTY SUPERVISOR SIGNATURE

 FIELD WORK REPORT
Higher Power Foundation
Addiction Treatment Center
DAY: - 5 DATE: - 4/2/2020

DIRECT HOURS: - 6 INDIRECT HOURS: -1

SUMMARY REPORT: -
I reported at 9 am . I attended the group session on family and its importance in the lives of
addicts .
LEARNING OUTCOME: -
I learned about the influence of family in the lives of addicts. If they share a good
relationship with their family members, it is not always the case that they will be able to stay
away from alcohol or drugs. Many addicts first start drinking when they are not in the
presence of their families. Men usually do feel that drinking alcohol gives them a sense of
power and authority over their families, especially in families where men have always
controlled every decision. They also tend to take up this behavior as they have observed their
fathers drinking and engaging in domestic violence. So the influence of family also plays an
important role in shaping the behavior of addicts.
Case Study 4
Name: D
Age: 33 years old
Native: Tamil Nadu

The client owns a mobile shop . His father passed away as a result of kidney failure and his
family comprises of his mother, three married sisters and his wife and two sons. The client
explained that he started with drinking beer with his friends but later on started drinking
alcohol due to tension and stress elated to his business, which he never tried to share with his
wife. When he had asked his sisters for financial help, they lied to him and made up excuses
of not being at home town, when he was actually watching them sitting in their car. He
became upset when his sisters lied to him and felt that they should have told him the truth.
Although he is in good terms with his mother, he has many times scolded her back when she
tried to warn him of his alcoholism. When he is unable to control his temper, he beats his
wife and children and then goes out to smoke to calm himself .
When asked whether his father had also engaged in any such behavior, he replied that his
father too was someone who exercised great control and authority in the family and used to
beat his mother and himself, when he used to get angry. A clear scenario of patriarchy can be
observed in this client as during his childhood he has already watched his father engage in
domestic violence which has made him believe that it is completely normal for a man to beat
up his wife and children .
The client said that when he was brought to the rehabilitation centre, he lost control of his
complete motor coordination and could not even remember his name or who he was or where
he was, etc. The site supervisor said that this client has shown about 12 days of lack of motor
control and coordination and had to be assisted even to go to the toilet or to even move
around. The client has also had jaundice attacks because of his drinking problem and now has
difficulty in seeing white objects as pure white as he seems to see it with a tint of yellow. I
was also able to notice restless motions in the client as he seemed to be in a hurry to go, the
more he was held , which could be observed through his changes in seating postures .

FACULTY SUPERVISOR SIGNATURE

 FIELD WORK REPORT
Higher Power Foundation
Addiction Treatment Center
DAY: - 6 DATE: - 11/2/2020

DIRECT HOURS: - 6 INDIRECT HOURS: -1

SUMMARY REPORT: -
I reported at 9 am and heard two clients.

CASE STUDY 5
Name: S K
Age: 40 years
Native: Hyderabad
The client severely lacks stability as he has been switching jobs ever since he started
working. He continuously believes that no post or no organization is good enough for him.
He is unmarried, as he claims that he never thought of marriage in his early years, where he
had to take care of his sick mother after his father passed away and his sister got married. He
has no close relationship with his relatives. The client said that he has been staying as a
paying guest back when he used to work in Hyderabad and now for the past four years in
Bangalore. He first said that he started drinking when he retired from one of his jobs and due
to constant loneliness in the pg. But then he said that he also used to drink during the times
that he used to work. He also explained that he has wasted around Rs 4 to 5 lakhs due to
drinking. The client ceases to admit that drinking was a problem and he says that he
volunteeringly decided to stay in a rehabilitaton centre but on enquiring with the counselor , I
was informed that his family brought him to this rehabilitation centre.
As a child, his father being a government employee, he had no stability to adapt to a single
school as his father was always transferring. It seems that this lack of stability is still
continuing to affect him in his decisions. The client seems to have lack of attention .
CASE STUDY 6
Name: J C
Native: Tibet
Age: 29 years

In this follow up, I tried to understand the constant “fear” that the client seemed to mention a
lot. He explained that when he was small, his father along with other men of the family, was
taken away due to political riots in Tibet, and killed in prison, due to which he had to walk
along with his mother through thick snows to migrate, at a very young age. This caused a
sense of revenge in his mind, for quite a long time, where he wanted to join the military and
fight the Tibetan government. But later on, he was able to confront his revenge, but says that
whenever someone calls his name or even on his phone, he gets the same fear that reminds
him how his father was called before he was taken away. When he was in grade 10th, he
addressed to his mother that he wanted to be a monk just like his uncles. His mother thought
that it was a child’ s opinion but when he addressed the same desire upon finishing schooling,
his mother did not let him as she didn’t want him to move away from the family forever,
which caused him anger over her for two years. Now that he thinks about it , he regrets that
he hasn’t been able to take care of his sister and mother, the same way that they did for him
and hopes to be able to practice medicine when he moves out from the rehabilitation centre.

LEARNING OUTCOME: -
I learned about how childhood traumas and experiences can have a severe impact on the
development of individuals.

FACULTY SUPERVISOR SIGNATURE

 FIELD WORK REPORT
Higher Power Foundation
Addiction Treatment Center
DAY: - 7 DATE: - 18/2/2020

DIRECT HOURS: - 6 INDIRECT HOURS: -1

SUMMARY REPORT: -
I reported at 9 am and heard a session on temptation and relapse and how alcohol and drug
addicts are constantly fighting a disease in which they find it hard to admit their
powerlessness over the use of substance and as psychologists, there is a need to break their
ego.

CASE STUDY 7
Name: R T
Age: 27 years
Native: Mumbai, hailing from Kerala
The client was called for follow up from his previous session where he had explained about
his childhood where he has memories of his alcoholic father who worked in the navy and
who used to beat his mother a lot and used to beat him for not being bright in studies .He
used to constantly feel that he was a test tube baby, being experimented on , so that his
parents could treat his little sister well. The client narrated how his parents used to beat him
and verbally abuse him which used to affect his daily life and although he maintained a very
close bond with his mother, he used to hate his father. He has reported that many times he
had to bail his father out of jail for drunk driving and for creating nuisance at public places.
His mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away and he has had a traumatic life until
grade 12th . He has a sister whom he is really fond of. The client said that he understands
what his father, who is still in a rehabilitation, still goes through as he too has been going
through alcohol addiction and wants to bring his sister from Kerala, where she is currently
staying with her mother’s family. According to the counselor and the site supervisor, the
client is fully reality stricken and completely aware of his life and has been showing drastic
importance from the time he was admitted here and has always been admitting that he is
ready to seek help so that he can get past his traumatic life.

FACULTY SUPERVISOR SIGNATURE

 FIELD WORK REPORT
Higher Power Foundation
Addiction Treatment Center
DAY: - 8 DATE: - 25/2/2020

DIRECT HOURS: - 6 INDIRECT HOURS: -1

SUMMARY REPORT: -
I reported at 9 am and attended a group session on stress as a factor for substance abuse.

LEARNING OUTCOME:-
I learnt that stress can have a huge and significant negative impact on an individual’s life , so
much to an extent that the person may resort to substance abuse as a way of “escape from
reality”. It makes them pessimistic and takes a toll on their normal routines, behavior and
personality as a whole. As a result, it hampers their relationships, work life, personal life, etc.
It is important to break the addict’s ego and make them understand that the more they resort
to such abuse of substances, more they put their lives in danger and it should be made clear to
them that alcohol, smoking and drug abuse can provide only temporary moments of
relaxation and “high” but on the long run, is taking away quite a number of years from their
lifespan.

CASE STUDY 8
Name: Fr. M
Age: 45
Native: Kanyakumari

He is a priest, who started drinking at the age of 23 years, along with fellow priests. He liked
it and slowly started increasing the intake. Frequent consumption increased his capacity of
intake. He started showing changes like being loud, authoritative,fast movements,etc. When
other clergymen and church people started realizing that he had started skipping masses
which he was supposed to be the celebrant for, they started to try checking up on him. Upon
knowing this, he stopped drinking in his room and started going to bars. He was in denial and
thought to himself that people are jealous of him.
Till 2012, he was in a state of denial and believed that there was nothing wrong with him.
Later that year, his mother passed away. He looked at this as an excuse to drink more, while
being aware that he was using his mother’s passing away as an excuse so that he could
consume more alcohol. His body became at ease with alcohol and drinking consumed all his
time. But then the tremors grew worse, restraining him from doing anything. On 24th
October,2019, he came to this de addiction centre. During the first few months, he had
suicidal thoughts and also claimed to have accepted that he is an addict. Now he says that he
does not have suicidal ideas and takes BP tablets. Talking about his family, he said all the
men were drinkers, but they were social drinkers.
Fr. M seemed to wander from our questions and seemed to explain everything like how a
famous person explains his autobiography.

FACULTY SUPERVISOR SIGNATURE

 FIELD WORK REPORT
Higher Power Foundation
Addiction Treatment Center
DAY: - 9 DATE: - 3/3/2020

DIRECT HOURS: - 6 INDIRECT HOURS: -1

SUMMARY REPORT: -
I reported at 9 am and attended a group session, where the members talked about their
experiences and vulnerabilites and also attended case studies.
LEARNING OUTCOME:-
I got to know about the memory impairment that happens as a result of alcohol and cannabis
addiction.

CASE STUDY 9

Name: J R

Age: 60

Native: Bangalore

The client has exceptional intelligence and used to work as a mechanic and later shifted his
job to ITC hospitality team, and during this time his alcohol and cannabis addiction grew
intense. He started drinking when his father poured him a glass of beer. The client says that
he has been diagnosed with cancer by a few doctors whereas other doctors have not been able
to diagnose it and has also been diagnosed with schizophrenia . His father passed away after
suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The client’s memory is also severely impaired as he
takes a long time to try and recall or try to get a word while conversing .

FACULTY SUPERVISOR SIGNATURE