Against the background of an increase in the demands for treatment of adolescent chemical addiction, as well as the persistently high relapse rate, the significant impact on the development and well-being of chemically addicted adolescents needs to be considered by the social work profession, in order to plan effective intervention strategies. The purpose of this research study was to explore and describe the experiences of chemically addicted adolescents who had relapsed after in-patient treatment. Subsequently, the researcher aimed to generate guidelines and recommendations for social workers, in order to prevent relapse. A qualitative research approach was employed. The researcher made use of descriptive, exploratory and contextual research designs. The study was conducted at adolescent in-patient treatment centres in the Western Cape, South Africa. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed, and field notes were taken to record the data. The sample selected from the population of chemically addicted adolescents in the Western Cape who relapsed after in-patient treatment was selected through the purposive sampling technique. Tesch's framework for data analysis (in Creswell, 2003) was employed, and data verification was conducted through Guba's model (in Krefting, 1991:214-222). The research results, concluding guidelines and recommendations are being disseminated by means of this written report. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Social Work)

Drug abuse is a very common problem these days; and this problem is especially rampant among the young people of South Africa. Early problems in family management, the antisocial behaviour of the child, and peer pressure and rejection ignite the early onset of substance abuse. Treatment programmes and therapeutic methods to treat chemical dependency are available and utilised, but the high relapse rate and lack of support from family members and dysfunctional families, as well as the fears and challenges expressed by in-patient youth about being reintegrated with their families and a lack of supporting literature in this regard remain a cause for concern and need to be considered by the social work profession in order to plan effective intervention strategies. In response to this situation a research project was undertaken with the purpose of exploring and describing the perceptions, expectations, fears and needs of chemically dependent youth in a rehabilitation centre about being integrated into their family systems in an attempt to forward recommendations to assist social workers in rendering effective therapeutic services to service users in rehabilitation centres who have a substance abuse problem. A qualitative approach was utilised following an explorative, descriptive and contextual research design. The study was conducted at an in-patient rehabilitation centre called the Dr Fabian and Florence Ribeiro Treatment Centre in Cullinan, Gauteng Province in South Africa. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews. A sample of participants was selected by using purposive sampling from a population of service users in the Dr Fabian and Florence Ribeiro Centre who are chemically dependent. Data were analysed according to the framework provided by Tesch (cited in Creswell, 2003). Guba‘s model (cited in Krefting, 1991) was employed for data verification. The research findings point to the fact that participants had both negative and positive perceptions about going back to their respective families. On the one hand, there were negative perceptions shared. These were founded on a feeling of worry about the fact that their families criticised them a lot or that their families would not accept that they had changed, would still treat them like addicts, and not trust them. Furthermore, they feared relapse, triggers in their environment and family members who were abusing a substance. On the other hand, some participants perceived the reintegration with their families, following treatment, in a positive light as they were looking forward to joining them again after being in v treatment for three months.They were excited about the fact that they had been granted an opportunity where they could show their families that they have changed and have the chance of starting a new life. Moreover, part of the research findings point to the fact that some of the participants‘ families had already organised employment, a place for them to stay and financial assistance. From the research findings it became clear that the participants harboured the following expectations towards the families with whom they were reuniting: They need the family‘s love and support; to trust them again: to mend severed relationships and spend quality time together; to provide practical and material help, and for the family to be educated on addiction and for the family to accompany them to aftercare. In terms of research findings directed at the site (i.e., the rehabilitation centre) where the research was conducted the participants indicated that they needed more activities, they would like their families to be part of their recovery process, and expressed the need for individual sessions apart from group sessions and aftercare services. In terms of recommendations it was apparent that community members, community organisations and the government sector need to develop and launch chemical substance abuse prevention and awareness programmes through various media, (i.e. articles in newspapers, magazines, talks and documentaries on radio and television, community gatherings and meetings in all communities). Moreover, it is recommended that parents should take responsibility for monitoring and countering substance abuse in their children. Families need to be empowered through talks, attending parenting skills training, workshops and group meetings. South Africa needs to develop a policy focusing on families. Furthermore, it is recommended that treatment centres need to provide individual sessions, family therapy, aftercare services and more extramural activities, if these are not included in their treatment regime. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Science)

Addiction is one of the most significant problems facing contemporary society. Consequently many scholars, institutions and clinicians have sought to understand this complex phenomenon, as is evident in the abundance of etiological models of addiction in existence today. A literature review pointed that there is little consensus regarding the nature and etiopathogenesis of addiction, and integrative models have not yet been able to provide the sought-after integration. In addressing this problem, this study offers a theoretical analysis of the paradigmatic and meta-paradigmatic suitability of Integral Theory in the design of an integrated metatheory of addiction. The data consisted of the most prominent etiological theories and models of addiction. The study focused on several essential features constituting the architectonic of any metatheory that attempts to provide conceptual scaffolding for the construction of a comprehensive metatheory of addiction. The criteria for the construction of a metatheory were conceptual integration, ontological span, ontological depth, empirical validity and internal consistency. Integral Theory was critically assessed in terms of each of the abovementioned criteria. The study suggests that Integral Theory is eminently suitable as a philosophical foundation for the development of an integrated metatheory of addiction. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

This study examines the relationship between adolescent depressive symptomology and substance abuse. From a literature study six hypotheses were developed. A quantitative empirical study, undertaken in a South African high school, investigated the level of adolescent depressive symptomology and substance abuse, as well as the relationship between the two. The influence of various moderator variables was also examined. In line with most international studies, the relationship between adolescent depressive symptomology and substance abuse was found to be significant. This research has shown that adolescent depressive symptomology is significantly and positively correlated with earlier age of onset of substance abuse as well as frequency of usage. There appear to be gender differences in the way adolescents deal with their depression in terms of substance abuse. In addition, risk factors for depression and substance abuse were confirmed. Recommendations have been made based on these results. / Psychology of Education / M.Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

This study examines the relationship between adolescent depressive symptomology and substance abuse. From a literature study six hypotheses were developed. A quantitative empirical study, undertaken in a South African high school, investigated the level of adolescent depressive symptomology and substance abuse, as well as the relationship between the two. The influence of various moderator variables was also examined. In line with most international studies, the relationship between adolescent depressive symptomology and substance abuse was found to be significant. This research has shown that adolescent depressive symptomology is significantly and positively correlated with earlier age of onset of substance abuse as well as frequency of usage. There appear to be gender differences in the way adolescents deal with their depression in terms of substance abuse. In addition, risk factors for depression and substance abuse were confirmed. Recommendations have been made based on these results. / Psychology of Education / M.Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

Aquest estudi examina les relacions entre la dinàmica familiar, ajustament diàdic conjugal i vincle parental dels joves-adults drogoadictes i no drogoaddictes des del model sistèmic. Per aquesta raó, l’objectiu principal d’aquest estudi és per una banda, determinar si existeix diferències estadísticament significatives entre el grup experimental i el grup control quant a les variables a estudiar. I per l’altra, valorar la importància del paper de la família tant el camp de la prevenció com en el tractament de les drogodependències. Per fer-ho, s’ha utilitzat tres instruments: la FACES III d’Olson i col•l (1985) per mesurar la dinàmica familiar, la DAS de Spanier i col•l (1976) per avaluar l’ajustament diàdic conjugal i el PBI de Parker i col•l (1979) per avaluar el vincle parental. Els resultats indiquen existeix diferències estadísticament significatives entre el grup experimental i el grup control quant a dinàmica familiar. Concretament, la majoria dels joves-adults drogoaddictes perceben una dinàmica familiar estructuralment desvinculada, seguida per la rígidament desvinculada, que dins el model Circumplex d’Olson correspon al tipus de família extrema o moderada, respectivament. Quant al grup control, la majoria de joves-adults no drogoaddictes perceben una dinàmica familiar estructuralment separada, flexiblement separada o connectada; i dins del model Circumplex, correspon al tipus de família equilibrada. Quant a la percepció de l’ajustament diàdic conjugal, destacar que no s’han trobat diferències estadísticament significatives entre els pares i les mares del grup experimental com els pares i les mares del grup control. Finalment, quant al vincle parental, assenyalar que la majoria de joves-adults drogoaddictes perceben un vincle de control sense afecte contràriament als joves del grup control, dels quals la majoria perceben un vincle òptim tant al grup de mares com de pares. La conclusió final ha estat que aquest estudi demostra la importància del paper de la família tant en el camp de la prevenció com en el camp de la intervenció. / Este estudio examina las relaciones entre la dinámica familiar, ajustamiento diádico conyugal y vínculo parental de los jóvenes-adultos drogadictos y no drogadictos desde el modelo sistémico. Por esta razón, el objetivo principal de este estudio es por un lado, determinar si existe diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre el grupo experimental y el grupo control con relación a las variables a estudiar. Y por otro lado, valorar a importancia del papel de la familia tanto en el campo de la prevención como en el tratamiento de las drogodependencias. Para llevarlo a cabo, se ha utilizado tres instrumentos: la FACES III de Olson y al. (1985) para medir la dinámica familiar, la DAS de Spanier y al. (1976) para medir el ajustamiento diádico conyugal y el PBI y at. (1979) para medir el vínculo parental. Los resultados indican que existe diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre el grupo experimental y el grupo control en cuanto a dinámica familiar. Concretamente, la mayoría de los jóvenes-adultos drogadictos perciben una dinámica familiar estructuralmente desvinculada, seguida por la rígidamente desvinculada, que dentro del modelo Circumplejo de Olson corresponde al tipo de familia extrema o moderada, respectivamente. En cuanto al grupo control, la mayoría de jóvenes-adultos no drogadictos perciben una dinámica familiar estructuralmente separada, flexiblemente separada o conectada; y dentro del modelo Circumplejo, corresponde al tipo de familia equilibrada. Con relación al ajustamiento diádico conyugal, destacar que no se ha hallado diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los padres y las madres del grupo experimental como los padres y las madres del grupo control. Finalmente, en cuanto al vínculo parental, destacar que la mayoría de jóvenes-adultos drogadictos perciben un vínculo de control sin afecto contrariamente a los jóvenes-adultos del grupo control, que la mayoría perciben un vínculo óptimo tanto en el grupo de madres como de padres. La conclusión final que se ha llegado ha estado que este estudio demuestra la importancia del papel de la familia tanto en el campo de la prevención como en el campo de la intervención. / This study examines the relationship between family dynamics, dyadic marital adjustment, and parental bonding in young-adult drug addicts and non-drug addicts from a systemic model. In this sense, the main aim of this study is, on the one hand, to determine whether there are significant differences between the experimental group and the control group with regards to the variables to be studied; and, on the other hand, to assess the importance of the family role both in the field of prevention and in drug addiction treatments. Three measures have been used: FACES III by Olson et al. (1985) to assess family dynamics; DAS by Spanier et al. (1976) to assess dyadic marital adjustment; and PBI by Parker et al. (1979) to assess parental bonding. Results show that there are statistically significant differences between the experimental group and the control group as regards family dynamics. Particularly, most young-adult drug addicts perceive their family dynamics as structurally detached, followed by strictly detached, which in Olson's Circumplex model corresponds to the extreme or moderate family type, respectively. As for the control group, most young-adult non-drug addicts perceive their family dynamics as structurally separated, flexibly separated or connected; which, according to Olson's Circumplex model corresponds to the balanced family type. With regards to the perception of dyadic marital adjustment, there are no statistically significant differences between fathers and mothers in the experimental group, as in the case of fathers and mothers in the control group. Finally, concerning parental bonding, most young-adult drug addicts perceive their parental bonds as affectionless control, whereas the young subjects in the control group perceive theirs as optimum both in the group of mothers and in the group of fathers. The final conclusion is that this study shows the importance of the family role both in the field of prevention and in the field of intervention.

Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo geral cartografar a experiência de usuários de crack no município de Recife. Este estudo foi desenvolvid o nos CAPSad e Instituto RAID. Os entrevistados foram usuários de crack do sexo masculino e feminino, com idade a partir dos 18 anos, que estavam em tratamento em decorrência desta substância nas instituições acima citadas durante a coleta de dados. Em cada CAPSad, foi entrevistado um usuário de crack indicado pela equipe técnica que tivesse uma boa organização nas ideias para descrever a sua experiência com o crack, e que se disponibilizou a contribuir com a pesquisa através de entrevista semi-estruturadas. No Instituto RAID foram entrevistados seis usuários escolhidos pelos mesmos critérios. A pesquisa desenvolvida foi qualitativa de inspiração fenomenológica pautada no pensamento de Husserl e no método proposto por A. Giorgi. Este método inclui, basicamente, os seguintes passos: O sentido do todo, a partir da leitura do depoimento do sujeito; Discriminação do depoimento em Unidades de Significados; Compreensão psicológica de cada Unidade de Significado; Síntese de cada depoimento expressa como estrutura da experiência; e a Composição de uma síntese geral que apresenta a essência do fenômeno para todos os sujeitos investigados. A identificação dessas Unidades de Significado nas experiências dos usuários apontou aspectos diversos sobre o tema tais como: A experiência de ser dependente do crack; o que levou os usuários a consumirem essa substância; qual o significado do crack na vida desses usuários; quais as sensações vividas no consumo desta droga; o prazer da morte pela pedra; a culpa sentida por ceder à compulsão; as perdas diante da pedra; a família como fator importante na busca por um tratamento; o crack e a violência; as dificuldades e sucessos no tratamento; o estigma do usuário de crack e o descontrole vivenciado por alguns usuários. Diante da complexidade das questões trazidas nas experiências dos usuários entrevistados, grandes desafios estão postos para as equipes que trabalham no tratamento dos usuários de crack. Torna-se fundamental uma reflexão contínua sobre essa prática / This research had as its main aim to portrait crack-cocaine users experience in the city of Recife. Subjects were crack-cocaine users, males and females, from 18 years old, undertaking treatment at drug addiction health services in Recife (CAPSad and Instituto RAID) during data collection. One subject from each CAPSad (06 in a whole) was interviewed and 06 subjects from Instituto RAID were interviewed. All designated by the health professional teams and with organized thoughts to describe their crack-cocaine use experiences, as well as with willingness to respond to a semi-structured interview. The research was qualitative with phenomenological background inspired by Husserls theory and Giorgis method. Basically, this method includes these steps: 1) reading the entire description of one subject in order to get a sense of the whole; 2) reading through the data a second time and marking those places in the description where a transition in meaning occurred from a psychological perspective (the meanings between transitions are called meaning units); 3) reading all of the meaning units and interrogating them from what they reveal about the phenomenon of interest, in this case, the crack-cocaine use experience, in order to grasp the relevance of the subjects own words for the phenomenon of using crack-cocaine in as direct a manner as possible (this step is called the transformation of the subjects lived experience into direct psychological expression); 4) presenting a situated or general structure of the experience (synthesis of each report expressed as structure of experience); and, 5) comprehending the general synthesis which represents the essence of the phenomenon to all subjects investigated. The identification of crack-cocaine users experience in meaning units pointed out to several themes such as: the experience of being a crack-cocaine user; what took them to use this drug; the meaning of crack-cocaine in their lives; crack-cocaine use sensations; crack-cocaine death pleasure; compulsion guiltiness; losses related to the drug; family as an important factor to seek treatment; crack-cocaine and violence; treatment challenges; crack-cocaine use stigma; and, loss of control experienced by users. These complex issues expressed by research subjects set great challenges to health professional teams treating crack-cocaine users and draw attention to the need of permanent reflection of their practices

O consumo de crack tem se constituído numa problemática de saúde pública pelas diversas consequências individuais, familiares e sociais que provoca. O objetivo desse estudo foi investigar a relação entre a perspectiva de suporte familiar de usuários de crack, de familiares e de técnicos sociais do Programa ATITUDE, analisando as possíveis implicações dessas percepções na assistência aos usuários e seus familiares. Optou-se por desenvolver a dissertação na modalidade artigos. No primeiro artigo, foi realizada uma revisão narrativa baseada em 23 artigos pesquisados nas bases de dados BVS, Scielo Periódicos e ScienceDirect, no intuito de avaliar as contribuições dos estudos às estratégias públicas de enfrentamento ao crack. Os critérios adotados para a seleção dos artigos foram: 1) artigos sobre "crack e políticas públicas", publicados nos últimos cinco anos e, 2) estudos com a população ou sobre a política pública brasileira. Como resultado foram incluídos nove artigos epidemiológicos, três sobre clinica das drogas, três sobre contextos de uso e violência, sete sobre representação social e mídia e um sobre família. Aspectos como mudança na assistência comunitária, políticas intersetoriais, vigilância e controle epidemiológicos, melhor integração entre os organismos que trabalham para a redução da demanda e aumento de pesquisas clínicas, foram ressaltados como importantes para a proposição de políticas públicas. O segundo artigo vem atender ao objetivo principal do estudo, sendo realizado com 62 participantes. Inicialmente foi aplicado em 46 usuários de crack, vinculados ao Programa ATITUDE, o Inventário de Percepção de Suporte Familiar (ISPF), que apresentou uma elevada consistência interna (&#945;=0,88). Na segunda fase, foi realizada uma entrevista semi-estruturada com oito usuários selecionados entre os 46 iniciais, quatro familiares e 12 técnicos sociais do programa. A média de idade desses usuários foi de 30 anos (DP=6,98), cujo perfil sociodemográfico remete a usuários, em sua maioria: não casados (78,3%), que residiam sozinhos (52,2%), com ensino fundamental incompleto (63%), advindos de famílias sem convivência entre os pais (65,2%) e que responderam ao IPSF com referência à família de origem (87%). Foram encontradas correlações significativas entre morar sozinho e ter uma baixa percepção de suporte familiar (r=0,324; p=0,05). A análise por fator, também evidenciou uma correlação significativa entre o Fator 1 (afetivo-consistente) e tipo de família (r=0,460; p=0,01) e com quem reside (r=0,309; p=0,05). Na etapa qualitativa, foi realizada uma análise de conteúdo temática, revelando-se, em linhas gerais, quatro temáticas principais para usuários e familiares, quais sejam: influência familiar, relacionamento familiar, lidar com problemas e expressão de sentimento. Para os técnicos, foram identificadas outras quatro temáticas: contribuição familiar, atividades terapêuticas, abordagem à família e relato de experiência. A predominância da percepção de um baixo suporte familiar (t (44) = -4,428; p<0,05), evidenciada na análise quantitativa, foi consoante com a fala dos demais participantes durante a entrevista. Em consonância com a literatura, neste estudo também se constatou a predominância do apoio materno e a influência dos pares se sobrepondo à da família na relação dos usuários com o crack. Discute-se, à luz da Teoria Social Cognitiva, a influência que a autoeficácia familiar e a modelação social exercem sobre o consumo de substâncias. Essa reflexão nos revela a importância de se efetivar uma proposição já contemplada na Política Nacional de Assistência Social, que remete a um olhar mais sistêmico sobre a questão do consumo do crack, contemplando tanto as necessidades do usuário como de seus familiares. Acredita-se que os paradigmas poderão ser aprimorados no sentido de favorecer novos modelos de políticas na atenção aos usuários de drogas, em especial de crack. / Crack usage has constituted a public health problem by the various individual, family and social consequences it causes. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between family support perspective of crack users, family and social technicians from the ATTITUDE program, analyzing the possible implications of these perceptions on the assistance for users and their families. We chose to develop the thesis in the format of articles. In the first article, we reviewed narratives based on 23 articles surveyed in the VHL databases Scielo Journals and Science Direct, in order to assess the contributions of these studies to public coping strategies with crack. The criteria adopted for the selection of items were: 1) articles on "crack and public policy," published in the last five years, and 2) studies with the population or on the Brazilian public policy. As a result, it was included nine epidemiological articles, three on clinical drug, three on contexts of use and violence, seven on social representation and media and one about family. Aspects such as change in Community assistance, intersectional policies, surveillance and epidemiological control, better integration between organizations working to reduce demand and increase in clinical research, were highlighted as important in proposing public policies. The second article is an answer to the main objective of the study, being conducted with 62 participants. Initially, it was applied to 46 crack users, linked to the Program ATTITUDE. Inventory of Family Support Perception (ISPF), which showed a high internal consistency (&#945; = 0.88). In the second phase, a semi-structured interview with eight selected users was conducted between the 46 initial four families and 12 social workers program. The average age of these users was 30 years (SD = 6.98), whose socio-demographic profile refers to users, mostly: not married (78.3%), who lived alone (52.2%), with incomplete primary education (63%) coming from families without coexistence between parents (65.2%) who responded to the IPSF with reference to the family of origin (87%). Significant correlations were found between living alone and having a low perception of family support (r = 0.324; p = 0.05). The factor analysis also showed a significant correlation between Factor 1 (affective-consistent), and family (r = 0.460; p = 0.01) and with whom resides (r = 0.309; p = 0.05). In the qualitative stage, a content analysis was performed, revealing themselves, in general, four main themes for users and families, such as: family influence, family relationships, dealing with problems and expression of feelings. For technicians, four other themes were identified: family contribution, therapeutic activities, approach to family and experience report. The predominance of the perception of a low family support (t (44) = -4.428, p <0.05), as evidenced in the quantitative analysis, was consonant with the speech of the other participants during the interview. In line with the literature, this study also found the prevalence of maternal support and peer influence overlapping the familys as observed in the link of users with crack. It is argued in the light of Social Cognitive Theory, the influence family self-efficacy and social modeling have on substance use. This reflection reveals the importance of executing a proposition already included in the National Policy for Social Assistance, which refers to a more systemic view on the issue of crack consumption, covering both user needs and their families. It is believed that the paradigms can be improved in order to encourage new policy models in the care of drug users, especially crack.

The aim of this master thesis is analysing the accessibility of social services in Pardubicky region and analysing the accessibility of social services in the area around the town of Usti nad Orlici. In the theoretical part of this thesis is the definition of social politics and principles and models of social politics. Next, this thesis describes models of social politics in the selected states of EU- in Sweden, Germany, Great Britain, France and Slovakia. Following of this section follows description of the social politics and system of social services (definition, quality standards and types of the social services) in the Czech Republic. The last section of the theoretical part compares legislations of the social services in the Czech Republic,France and Slovakia. The practical part of this thesis is focused on social services in Pardubicky region. The introduction of the practical part describes the planning of social services in Pardubicky region. The next section analyse the accessibility of social services for different groups in Pardubicky region. More detailed analyses of accessibility of social services in Pardubicky region is focused on area around the town of Usti nad Orlici

Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:08:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_renata_barreto.pdf: 1209055 bytes, checksum: 2ee6794692af99ee898228274042d265 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-01 / This research had as its main aim to portrait crack-cocaine users experience in the city of Recife. Subjects were crack-cocaine users, males and females, from 18 years old, undertaking treatment at drug addiction health services in Recife ( CAPSad and Instituto RAID ) during data collection. One subject from each CAPSad (06 in a whole) was interviewed and 06 subjects from Instituto RAID were interviewed. All designated by the health professional teams and with organized thoughts to describe their crack-cocaine use experiences, as well as with willingness to respond to a semi-structured interview. The research was qualitative with phenomenological background inspired by Husserl s theory and Giorgi s method. Basically, this method includes these steps: 1) reading the entire description of one subject in order to get a sense of the whole; 2) reading through the data a second time and marking those places in the description where a transition in meaning occurred from a psychological perspective (the meanings between transitions are called meaning units ); 3) reading all of the meaning units and interrogating them from what they reveal about the phenomenon of interest, in this case, the crack-cocaine use experience, in order to grasp the relevance of the subject s own words for the phenomenon of using crack-cocaine in as direct a manner as possible (this step is called the transformation of the subject s lived experience into direct psychological expression); 4) presenting a situated or general structure of the experience (synthesis of each report expressed as structure of experience); and, 5) comprehending the general synthesis which represents the essence of the phenomenon to all subjects investigated. The identification of crack-cocaine users experience in meaning units pointed out to several themes such as: the experience of being a crack-cocaine user; what took them to use this drug; the meaning of crack-cocaine in their lives; crack-cocaine use sensations; crack-cocaine death pleasure; compulsion guiltiness; losses related to the drug; family as an important factor to seek treatment; crack-cocaine and violence; treatment challenges; crack-cocaine use stigma; and, loss of control experienced by users. These complex issues expressed by research subjects set great challenges to health professional teams treating crack-cocaine users and draw attention to the need of permanent reflection of their practices / Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo geral cartografar a experiência de usuários de crack no município de Recife. Este estudo foi desenvolvid o nos CAPSad e Instituto RAID. Os entrevistados foram usuários de crack do sexo masculino e feminino, com idade a partir dos 18 anos, que estavam em tratamento em decorrência desta substância nas instituições acima citadas durante a coleta de dados. Em cada CAPSad, foi entrevistado um usuário de crack indicado pela equipe técnica que tivesse uma boa organização nas ideias para descrever a sua experiência com o crack, e que se disponibilizou a contribuir com a pesquisa através de entrevista semi-estruturadas. No Instituto RAID foram entrevistados seis usuários escolhidos pelos mesmos critérios. A pesquisa desenvolvida foi qualitativa de inspiração fenomenológica pautada no pensamento de Husserl e no método proposto por A. Giorgi. Este método inclui, basicamente, os seguintes passos: O sentido do todo, a partir da leitura do depoimento do sujeito; Discriminação do depoimento em Unidades de Significados; Compreensão psicológica de cada Unidade de Significado; Síntese de cada depoimento expressa como estrutura da experiência; e a Composição de uma síntese geral que apresenta a essência do fenômeno para todos os sujeitos investigados. A identificação dessas Unidades de Significado nas experiências dos usuários apontou aspectos diversos sobre o tema tais como: A experiência de ser dependente do crack; o que levou os usuários a consumirem essa substância; qual o significado do crack na vida desses usuários; quais as sensações vividas no consumo desta droga; o prazer da morte pela pedra; a culpa sentida por ceder à compulsão; as perdas diante da pedra; a família como fator importante na busca por um tratamento; o crack e a violência; as dificuldades e sucessos no tratamento; o estigma do usuário de crack e o descontrole vivenciado por alguns usuários. Diante da complexidade das questões trazidas nas experiências dos usuários entrevistados, grandes desafios estão postos para as equipes que trabalham no tratamento dos usuários de crack. Torna-se fundamental uma reflexão contínua sobre essa prática