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. 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.
In philosophy, the golden mean is the desirable middle between two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency.
Interview mit Günther Apel, Accenture, über IT, ihren (Mehr-)Wert für das Unternehmen und die Steigerung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit durch IT. Produziert 2008 für Microsoft Leaders Lounge. Produktion und Moderation: Ulrik Neumann, Atkon; Skript und Redaktion: Wolfgang Miedl
On Wednesday, Oct. 1, some of the world’s brightest economic minds came together at the UCLA Anderson School of Management to discuss the current financial crisis. Moderated by Bloomberg News’ L.A. bureau chief Seth Lubove, the panel discussion focused on events leading up to the current economic turmoil; possible solutions, including the recent $700 billion bailout plan; and whether the country is facing the possibility of another Great Depression.
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
The unfortunate thing is that in this country there are very few treatment resources for behavioral addiction. There are some, but there are not a lot. If you had a chemical addiction you’d find a treatment resource, probably, on every corner. However, for behavior addictions, they’re quite difficult to find. If you’re going to go about finding a recovery program and a more cognitive behavioral one, probably the easiest one to identify is a private clinician, private psychologist, social worker, or mental health professional in your community. The best place to find that is in your phone book or information. You call up and you ask your local psychological association as well as call up the National Organization of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists or go online and look for a professional within your community. Beyond doing private one on one or private group, there are a few inpatient facilities (not a lot) around the country. There are some outpatient facilities; that means that you don’t go in, you don’t check yourself in, and you don’t sleep there. There are support groups, although not a lot. There’s smart recovery, where the individual wants an abstinence goal. There’s moderation management, which is for harm reduction goal, but there are not a lot of support groups on that level. However, there are Internet chat rooms and there are Internet resources that aren’t exactly formalized support groups but you can get some accurate and solid information on approaching it from a cognitive behavioral standpoint. For more information visit http://aaalternatives.com
Jeffrey Taylor is the founder of Jeffrey Taylor Group, a holding company for Jeffreys various operating businesses which include, Showbiz Management Advisors, a film and TV production advisor, Scottsdale Luxury Cruises, a luxury cruise agency and Deep Discount Business Travel, a business consolidator.
Outpatient services are quite a bit broader than inpatient services. If you’re looking for a particular orientation, be it more eastern, more cognitive behavioral for that matter, the choices are much broader than residential. The choices, therefore, lie everything from one on one individual therapy to group therapies that meet once a week, to support groups such as Smart Recovery or Moderation Management or, you know, the twelve step approach. Or there are very formalized outpatient programs, we go one, two, three hours a day, three, four days a week for 3 to 6 months. So the range is quite large and it is very helpful to stay involved. These addictions are not cured with a shot or any medication, they’re cured through practice of doing things, doing life another way. For more information visit http://www.aaalternatives.com
Dr. Arnold M. Washton– internationally known addiction psychologist, book author, and substance abuse treatment expert– discusses moderation strategies that can be used by nonalcoholic problem drinkers to reduce their alcohol consumption to safer levels and prevent alcohol-related consequences.
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