According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and many other independent researchers, there are four times as many problem drinkers as alcoholics in this country. Yet there are very few programs that specifically address the needs of beginning stage problem drinkers as a treatment of alcoholism, while there are literally thousands of programs for the smaller population who are seriously alcohol dependent.
By the time people reach serious stages of alcohol dependency, changing drinking behavior becomes more difficult, and treatment is costly. A support group called Moderation Management, or MM, believes that this situation needs to be remedied in the interest of public health and human kindness with early intervention and harm reduction programs. Alcohol moderation programs are less costly, shorter in duration, less intensive, and have higher success rates than traditional abstinence-only approaches. However, actually attending an MM meeting may be difficult since only about two dozen face-to-face support groups meet nationwide. Support may be found via the internet as well as a number of addiction specialists.
Nine out of ten problem drinkers today actively avoid traditional treatment approaches. This is because they know that most traditional programs will label them as “alcoholic,” possibly requiring attendance at 12-step and abstinence based meetings, and prescribe lifetime abstinence as the only acceptable change in drinking. Alcoholism help in the form of moderation is seen as a less threatening first step, and one that problem drinkers are more likely to attempt before their problems become nearly intractable.
Not surprisingly, approximately 30% of MM members go on to abstinence-based programs. This is consistent with research findings from professional moderation training programs. Outcome studies indicate that professional programs which offer both moderation and abstinence have higher success rates than those that offer abstinence only. Clients tend to self-select the behavior change options which will work best for them. Moderation Management offers a nine-step professionally reviewed program, which provides information about alcohol, moderate drinking guidelines and limits, drink monitoring exercises, goal setting techniques, and self-management strategies.
Problem drinkers can make informed choices about alcohol moderation or abstinence goals based upon educational information and the experiences shared at self-help groups. Harm reduction is a worthwhile goal, especially when the total elimination of harm or risk is not a realistic option. Moderation is a natural part of the process from harmful drinking, whether moderation or abstinence becomes the final goal. Most individuals who are able to maintain total abstinence first attempted to reduce their drinking, unsuccessfully. Moderation programs shorten the process of “discovering” if moderation is a workable solution by providing concrete guidelines about the limits of moderate alcohol consumption.
The basic premise of moderation is that behaviors can be changed. MM agrees with many professionals and researchers in the field that alcohol abuse, versus dependence, is a learned behavior (habit) for problem drinkers, and not a disease. This approach recognizes that people who drink too much can suffer from varying degrees of alcohol-related problems, ranging from mild to moderate to severe. A reasonable early option for problem drinkers is alcohol moderation. Seriously dependent drinkers will probably find a return to moderate drinking a great challenge, but the choice to accept that challenge remains theirs.
Moderation is not a good approach for every person with a drinking problem or who wishes to control drinking. No one solution is best for all people with drinking problems. There are many possible solutions available to each individual, and MM is good place to begin to address a drinking problem. If moderation proves to be an ineffective solution, the individual is encouraged to progress to a more radical solution.
If you need help deciding whether alcohol moderation is best for you, I suggest that you contact Marc F. Kern, Ph.D., one of the original founders and a member of the MM Board of Directors of Moderation Management Network, Inc., through his website at http://www.habitdoc.com/, where one-to-one help is offered.
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http://www.BrightonHospital.org A man describes the circumstances of his alcohol abuse that he was a slave to, as he says, before seeking help at Brighton Hospital, Brighton, MI. He praises the entire staff that helped him conquer his alcoholism bringing him to God. Brighton Hospital is the second oldest alcohol and substance abuse treatment clinic in the United States and the first to be licensed in Michigan. A national leader in Christian drug and alcohol treatment and counseling service that began in the early 1950’s. We treat addictions to: alcohol, marijuana, pot, crack, heroin, cocaine, speed, oxycontin, coke, prescription pain pills, ecstasy, plus. We have many recovery testimonials on YouTube. www.brightonhospital.org
Outpatient care ranges from free of charge, meaning self-help groups like SMART Recovery, Moderation Management, but there’s also some other ones like SOS, Women for Sobriety and Recovery Incorporated. These are all out-patient, free, self-help groups that are available via the internet. Not every single town has one, but please look at the internet, and you’ll see if there’s a meeting by you. Each of the philosophies are somewhat different, but they’re free of charge. Now the price goes up from there, of course. You know, an individual therapist can range from, you know, $75 an hour to $350 an hour. You could go once a week, you could go twice a week, you could go three times a week, ’cause that could be quite expensive. Outpatient structured, outpatient is generally somewhere between the $3,000 and $5,000 range for three months. For more information visit http://www.aaalternatives.com
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