ALCOHOLISM

Alcoholism

Alcoholism

Introduction

In an alcoholism intervention (also known as an alcoholic intervention), alcoholics are confronted by family members and friends about their drinking behavior and how their abusive and excessive drinking has affected everyone around him or her. Alcoholism interventions should be carefully planned and developed by professional substance abuse counselors who are experienced in such procedures. The most essential purpose of an alcoholism intervention is to get the alcoholic to seek professional alcohol addiction treatment.

Overview

Research shows that one way of dealing with alcoholism is to conduct an intervention. What is an alcoholism intervention?

Stated differently, an alcoholism intervention is a meeting involving the alcoholic, family members, friends, perhaps an employer, along with a mental health or an addiction intervention specialist. In this meeting, the family members and friends, under the leadership and guidance of the healthcare or mental health professional, express their concern over the addict's drinking behavior and strongly "encourage" the addict to get professional help. (Zinberg, 2006, 15-19)

Typically in an alcoholic intervention, family members and friends tell the alcoholic in their own words how they are concerned about the drinker and how his or her drinking has created anxiety, frustration, fear, and other problems in their lives. The objective of an alcoholism intervention is for the alcoholic to listen to what has been said and then to accept the fact that he or she needs professional alcoholism assistance. (Sue, 2006, 45-49)

It is important to state that alcoholism interventions are typically resorted to when all other options have been exhausted in an attempt to help an individual overcome a serious drinking problem.

Alcoholism Intervention Steps

Alcoholism intervention or alcohol abuse intervention is the process whereby persons who care about the health and well-being of an addicted person come together to share their concerns about the addicted person's behavior. A small percentage of people are able to recover from addiction on their own without the help of an alcoholism intervention. However, most addicted people need assistance.

Addiction can be defined as a compulsive need for and use of a substance that is psychologically or physically habit-forming and negatively affects the addict's health and life. If the addicted person has become dependent on the substance, physiological symptoms will likely be experienced upon withdrawal. (Stephanie, 2008, 101-103)

When dealing with addicts, one must remember that the addicted person's brain has been altered by the substance's use, regardless of the substance or behavior involved. Many people have spoken to their loved one about his or her addiction but without success. An alcoholism intervention involving a knowledgable outside professional can be helpful when attempting to have your loved one recognize their addiction and obtain help in stopping it. Here are typical alcoholism intervention steps that may be used to help move your family out of crisis mode and address the addiction of the person you care about:

1. Contact the Alcoholism Intervention Facility - during this phase, you will have researched the possible alcohol abuse intervention facilities. Once you've selected the treatment center, you'll contact them to discuss your ...