Treatment Centers: Methadone Facts

Question: Are inpatient treatment centers only beneficial for alcoholics who drink everyday?

(Posted by: jen on 2009-09-04 11:37:44)

Someone I know has a problem and his wife wants him to go to a rehab- like place. He claims it won't help him because he falls off the wagon more like monthly and doesn't drink daily. Is that ridiculous or realistic? He probably drinks more than once a month, but it's catastrophic every month or two- - wrecking cars, spending all the family's $, not coming home at all, etc.

Posted by: jag m on 2009-09-04, 11:46:31

If a person drinks once a month and creates problem, rehab is not the place, psychiatric consultation room is the place

Posted by: Crackalyn from beyond the grave on 2009-09-04, 11:49:09

It depends on what you define as a "problem " drinker. If it's monthly (you weren't totally specific on how often) it doesn't sound like a problem, but if it is excessive and he gets mean or abusive when drunk, I think an inpatient program might work, but there are other options like outpatient treatment (where he goes into the place for an hour or two every week or however often they want him to). They will at the very least give him ideas for how to stop drinking or what to do instead.

Posted by: QueenDorkus on 2009-09-04, 11:50:03

A lot of alcoholics refuse to admit they have a problem. Start by helping his wife cut off his resources to drinking if you think he's drinking too often, but if he really is drinking once or twice a month i'm not sure that is a problem. Only if he's drunk every single day without fail then he needs help.

Posted by: Kelly on 2009-09-04, 12:07:06

Its called Binge drinking and YES he needs rehab! You dont have to use daily to have a problem.

Posted by: raysny on 2009-09-04, 18:29:59

Almost all rehabs (over 90%) are little more than intensive, AA indoctrination. They have slightly higher success rates than free AA meetings, which is the same or worse than no treatment at all. The rest are mostly Narconon, a Scientology front, or heavily religious. What works? A summary of alcohol treatment research from "Handbook of alcoholism treatment approaches: Effective alternatives ": behaviortherapy.com/ whatworks.htm (12step facilitation is ranked 37th, AA 38th in effectiveness out of the 48 methods tested.) The Effectiveness of the Twelve-Step Treatment orange-papers.org/ orange-effectiveness.html "The most important single prognostic variable associated with remission among alcoholics who attend alcohol clinics is having something to lose if they continue to abuse alcohol.... Patients cited changed life circumstances rather than clinic intervention as most important to their abstinence.... Improved working and housing conditions made a difference in 40 percent of good outcomes, intrapsychic change in 32 percent, improved marriage in 32 percent, and a single 3-hour session of advice and education about drinking... in 35 percent. " peele.net/ faq/ factor.html