Alcoholism Treatment
Once a diagnosis of alcoholism is made, the next major step is getting the patient to seek alcohol treatment. One study reported that the main reasons alcoholics do not seek alcoholism treatment are:
• Lack of confidence in successful therapies
• Denial of their own alcoholism
• Social stigma attached to the condition and its treatment
The alcoholic and everyone involved should fully understand that alcoholism is a disease. Furthermore, the responses to this disease (need, craving, fear of withdrawal) are not character flaws but symptoms, just as pain or discomfort are symptoms of other illnesses. They should also realize that alcoholism treatment is difficult and sometimes painful, just as are treatments for other life-threatening diseases, such as cancer, but that treatment is the only hope for a cure.
Alcoholism intervention by family members, employers, and therapists can be very effective in motivating a person to quit and in reducing drinking over the short term. Even brief alcohol interventions from primary care doctor and self-help information can be helpful in reducing harmful drinking. Studies report, however, that only regular follow-up and reinforcement will sustain recovery rates and possibly even improve survival rates.
Personal Intervention Meetings. The best approaches for motivating a patient to seek alcohol treatment are interventional group meetings between people with alcoholism and their friends and family members who have been affected by the alcoholic behavior. Using this approach, each person affected offers a compassionate but direct and honest report describing specifically how he or she has been hurt by their loved one’s alcoholism. The family and friends should express their affection for the patient and their intentions for supporting the patient through recovery, but they must strongly and consistently demand that the patient seek alcoholism treatment. Children may even be involved in this process, depending on their level of maturity and ability to handle the situation.
Employer Intervention. Employers can be particularly effective. Their approach should also be compassionate but strong, threatening the employee with loss of employment if they do not seek help. Some large companies provide access to inexpensive or free treatment programs for their workers. Studies suggest that such intervention are effective at helping the worker at least to cut back on drinking.
Overall Alcohol Treatment Goals
The ideal goals of alcohol treatment by many doctors and organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) are total abstinence. Patients who secure total abstinence have better survival rates, mental health, and marriages, and they are more responsible parents and employees than those who continue to drink or relapse. To achieve this, the patient aims to avoid high-risk situations and replace the addictive patterns with satisfying, time-filling behaviors.
Because abstinence is so difficult to attain, however, many professionals choose to treat alcoholism as a chronic disease. In other words, patients should expect and accept relapse but should aim for as long a remission period as possible. Even merely reducing alcohol intake can lower the risk for alcohol-related medical problems.
AA and other alcohol treatment groups are greatly worried by treatment approaches that do not aim for strict abstinence, however. Many people with alcoholism are eager for any excuse to start drinking again. There is also no way to determine which people can stop after one drink and which ones cannot. Evidence strongly suggests that seeking total abstinence and avoiding high-risk situations are the optimal goal for people with alcoholism. An alcohol treatment program can assist you in reaching that goal.
To locate a reputable alcohol treatment program, you can call the national alcoholism helpline at 1-800-511-9225.
