There are now "intervention" programs out there, being touted as the "new way to intervene with your spouse who has a drinking problem"... These 'intervention' programs espouse a few things that certainly are not new!
a. They tell the spouse that she must learn to find ways to help him relax so he will not want to drink when he gets home at night! (please stop your laughter!)
b. They tell the spouse that she must adjust her concept of what is "sobriety" to INCLUDE the idea that total abstinence is ONLY ONE way to be "sober"!
c. And she must accept the idea that "only the drinker has the right to choose whether or not he wants to learn to cut down on his drinking ----or whether he wants to stop drinking! (oh myy, how interesting!)
d. AND--- these new "intervention" programs say they are much more successful than the "Johnston Institute Model" (the most proven model in the U.S., for decades).
Is it true? OF COURSE they are more successful than the Johnston Institute---because the alcoholic who agrees to complete their program only has to show that DURING THE TIME OF HIS ATTENDANCE THERE he has cut down on his drinking to some degree (AND THAT AMOUNT IS TO BE DETERMINED BY HIM! ANY AMOUNT IS "SUCCESS"!)
These "new programs" also say that they do not agree with "alcoholism is a disease" (as opposed to the American Medical Association saying that it is).
Why, I wonder, do these 'new programs' say this? Could it be because if you know that it is a disease, you learn that one of the KEY medical truism's of this disease is the fact that it is PROGRESSIVE? That means that as long as you drink any amount at all, it keeps the disease progressing----getting worse------- and therefore, "controlled drinking" can, at best, be only a very temporary measure.
No, these new program for 'intervention' are not new--- therapists who do not understand alcoholism and its process, for decades, have tried to teach alcoholics how to drink successfully; i.e., how to "control their drinking". It just doesn't work.
In fact, it contributes to denial and the continuation of alcoholism.
I think it is usually a good idea --- if you are considering calling a treatment center or a professional "intervention program" for your family member -- to ask them ahead of time, "is your policy modelled after the Johnston Institute program where "sobriety" is defined as total abstinence? And is that your goal, rather than "controlled drinking" or "cutting down on drinking"?
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