Alcohol Intervention

Announcement: How to Do an Alcohol Intervention on a High-Functioning Alcoholic

Announcement: How to Do an Alcohol Intervention on a High-Functioning Alcoholic

We suggest you first read “How to Recognize a High-Functioning Alcoholic” to help you eliminate any denial or soft-pedaling by family members. The high-functioning alcoholic can be one of the most difficult to do an intervention on because denial is so strong.

Families often proceed with an alcohol intervention when the alcoholic has really done significant damage, such as been arrest for DUIs, ended up in the hospital, been in a car wreck, or has completely ruined their financial, professional, and family lives. Full Story

Emergency Room Good Place for Alcohol Interventions

Emergency Room Good Place for Alcohol InterventionsBrief alcohol interventions are short sessions that doctors and other health professionals use to identify people affected by serious drinking problems or at risk for such problems, and also to encourage a switch to safer patterns of alcohol intake. Current evidence indicates that these interventions have a positive effect in a number of settings. In a study published in September 2014 in the journal Substance Abuse, a team of American researchers explored the usefulness of brief alcohol interventions given to young people receiving treatment in an emergency room. Full Story

Young Adults’ Self-Control Over Alcohol Boosted by Intervention

In the U.S. and many other countries, early adulthood is known as a time of high alcohol consumption and involvement in risky, potentially life-threatening alcohol-related practices. For young adults (and the members of other age groups), the ability to limit alcohol intake is linked to a belief in one’s ability to control drinking urges and behaviors. In a study scheduled for publication in July 2014 in the journal Addictive Behaviors, researchers from Great Britain and Iran investigated whether young adults can learn to increase their perceived level of drinking self-control.

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Should Doctors Do More to Educate Their Patients About Alcohol Risks?

When you visit your doctor there are a few standard questions you’ll be asked: How are you feeling? What’s going on in your life? Do you have any health concerns? Now the government agency that keeps tabs on our nation’s health is asking doctors to spend more time discussing alcohol use with patients.

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Arming Parents with the Knowledge to Confront Teen Drinking

Studies have shown that parents are the most significant factor in whether a teen decides to drink alcohol. Peer pressure gets all the media attention, but research has shown that parental influence lasts through their children’s adolescence.

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Teens’ Desire to Belong May Lead to Alcohol Abuse

Adolescence is a confusing period of emotional highs and lows. These are years when kids are, for the first time, experiencing an identity separate from that of their parents and home. Whether it is the freedom of driving a car or having their own job or even their first romantic relationship, teens are figuring out how to be their own person.

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Helping a Loved One with an Addiction

When one person is caught in addiction, they usually take several close loved ones into the swirl of pain and turmoil along with them. Families who have a dear one living in addiction usually experience a gamut of emotions. Fear, anger, guilt, concern, shame and frustration are the norm for those closest to the addicted person. However, without meaning to do so, the family who wants to help can actually wind up exhibiting behaviors that are enabling rather than helpful. It isn’t the desire to help that is missing; it is knowing how to help that is absent. Here are six ways you can help. Full Story

Interventions Help Shape Students’ Decisions About Drinking

Students entering college are facing many decisions about the lifestyle they will have during college. Many students transition to new habits relating to food, exercise and social activities. For some, the first weeks will introduce new opportunities to consume alcohol that will shape the patterns of drinking for their college career. Full Story

New Programs from Wales Found to Reduce Problem Drinking

A study from Bangor University in North Wales suggests that two programs can help problem drinkers reduce their alcohol consumption. After following the Alcohol Attention-Control Training Program (AACTP) or the Life Enhancement and Advancement Program (LEAP), drinkers had positive results.

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Cost-Effectiveness of Interventions in Emergency Treatment of Alcohol-Involved Youth

The cost of treating alcohol-related injuries in emergency departments adds up, especially when taking into account the counseling and intervention required in some cases. When youth enter the emergency department with a drinking-related problem, medical personnel are especially compelled to counsel them to make more healthy decisions.

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