The position of ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (AA) and the dominant view among therapists who treat alcoholism in the United States is that the goal of treatment for those who have been dependent on alcohol is total, complete, and permanent abstinence from alcohol (and, often, other intoxicating substances).
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What is abstinence-based approach to alcoholism?
Abstinence can also be a goal, for example, "She intended to abstain from sexual activity until she is married," or a philosophy, for example, "AA is an abstinence-based approach to recovery from alcoholism."
What is the goal of treatment for alcoholism?
The position of ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (AA) and the dominant view among therapists who treat alcoholism in the United States is that the goal of treatment for those who have been dependent on alcohol is total, complete, and permanent abstinence from alcohol (and, often, other intoxicating substances).
Is controlled drinking more stable than abstinence for alcoholics?
Edwards et al. (1983) reported that controlled drinking is more unstable than abstinence for alcoholics over time, but recent studies have found that controlled drinking increases over longer follow-up periods. Finney and Moos (1991) reported a 17 percent “social or moderate drinking” rate at 6 years and a 24 percent rate at 10 years.
Is abstinence really necessary for recovery from alcohol addiction?
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was the first program focused specifically on treating addiction, and complete abstinence from alcohol was the cornerstone of the approach. Therefore, abstinence has a long history of being an entrenched concept required for recovery.
What does alcohol abstinence mean?
Abstinence from alcohol involves completely avoiding intake of any alcohol and contrasts with controlled drinking that might help an alcohol addict to become a moderate and non-problematic drinker.
Is abstinence the best treatment for addiction?
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), abstinence-based treatment is the safest approach to treating drug addiction. It's still the most commonly used form of addiction treatment across the U.S. today.
What is complete abstinence?
Complete abstinence is the only way to guarantee protection against STDs. This means avoiding all types of intimate genital contact. Someone practicing complete abstinence does not have any type of intimate sexual contact, including oral sex. So there is no risk of getting an STD.
Why is abstinence important for recovery?
Abstinence, on the other hand, allows the brain to reset itself, which gives individuals a fair chance at making a full recovery. Abstinence benefits the addiction recovery process because avoiding drugs and alcohol: Removes all forms of temptation.
Is abstinence the only solution for alcoholism?
Conclusions: Available evidence does not support abstinence as the only approach in the treatment of alcohol use disorder. Controlled drinking, particularly if supported by specific psychotherapy, appears to be a viable option where an abstinence-oriented approach is not applicable.
What is an example of abstinence?
The definition of abstinence is choosing not to engage in a certain behavior, or not giving in to a desire or appetite. An example of abstinence is a recovering alcoholic that no longer drinks. (r.c.ch.) Abstention from flesh meat on certain designated days.
What is abstinence and types of abstinence?
The official definition of abstinence includes not taking part in vaginal, anal, and oral sex. However, some people practice abstinence by only skipping one or two of those types of sexual activity. Anyone can practice abstinence at any time. You can become abstinent even if you've had sex in the past.
What are the types of abstinence?
This is different from psychological mechanism of repression where the abstinence is not willingly adopted.Abstinence from food. Abstinence from food refers to fasting. ... Abstinence from smoking and alcohol. Related Stories. ... Sexual abstinence. ... Abstinence from recreational intoxicants. ... Reasons for abstinence. ... Further Reading.
What is abstinence health?
Abstinence means not having any kind of sex with a partner. Sex includes vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex. Oral sex is any kind of contact between the mouth and the genitals or anus.
What is a drug abstinence order?
An order requiring an offender to abstain from misusing specified Class A drugs and to submit to regular drug testing.
What is the synonym of abstinence?
Synonyms of 'abstinence' in British English The age of hedonism was replaced by a new era of temperance. self-denial. self-restraint. forbearance. forbearance from military action.
Which of the following is an alternative to abstinence?
Abstract. The requirement of immediate and abrupt quitting ("cold turkey") can be an obstacle to the acceptance and accomplishment of abstinence as a long-term outcome. Three alternative "warm turkey" routes to abstinence are discussed: (a) sobriety sampling, (b) tapering down, and (c) trial moderation.
How long after intervention do you have to drop out of alcohol?
Outcomes of interest were continuous abstinence from alcohol (effectiveness) and all cause dropouts (as a proxy for acceptability) at least 12 weeks after start of intervention.
How many people in England are alcohol dependent?
In England, around more than half a million adults are alcohol dependent and need assessment and treatment.4However, only one in four of those with alcohol dependence seek treatment, and relapse is common.5The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline6recommends a comprehensive assessment, followed by either community based or residential medically assisted alcohol withdrawal, and that in particular drug treatments for abstinence should be considered by specialist staff for patients with moderate to severe alcohol dependence. The capacity to offer this level of support in specialist services for the number of patients who need such care is, however, limited; about 82% of people do not receive the specialist treatment needed.7Switching the management of alcohol dependence to within primary care has the potential to improve access to treatment. Here we consider primary care to be a setting where medical services were provided in general practice, the first point of contact for patients, and not by specialist services.8To achieve better long term outcomes, the maintenance of abstinence needs to be followed by medium to long term support. Although such support is currently managed by specialist care, primary care stands in a unique position to provide holistic care.
What is a randomised controlled trial?
Randomised controlled trials comparing two or more interventions that could be used in primary care. The population was patients with alcohol dependency diagnosed by standardised clinical tools and who became detoxified within four weeks.
What is dichotomous outcome?
The primary outcome measure was dichotomous, ideally extracted as the number of patients who remained abstinent (no alcohol intake) after randomisation, out of the total number of participants randomised. We converted percentages or fractions to whole numbers based on the number of randomised patients, provided an intention-to-treat analysis had been used. If intention-to-treat results were not available, we used reported results for completers. A similar approach was used for dropouts, defined as the number of patients who withdrew from the study at reported time points.
Where is the 2 Department of Basic Psychology and Methodology?
2Department of Basic Psychology and Methodology, University of Murcia, Spain
Is evidence lacking for benefit from interventions that could be implemented in primary care settings for alcohol abstinence, other?
Evidence is lacking for benefit from interventions that could be implemented in primary care settings for alcohol abstinence, other than for acamprosate. More evidence from high quality randomised controlled trials is needed, as are strategies using combined interventions (combinations of drug interventions or drug and psychosocial interventions) to improve treatment of alcohol dependency in primary care.
Can primary care provide abstinence?
Evidence is accumulating for several interventions to maintain abstinence that feasibly could be offered in primary care, or at the level of a close collaboration between primary and specialist care.9In this systematic review and network meta-analysis we aimed to determine the most effective interventions for alcohol abstinence with the potential to be delivered in a primary care setting.
What would happen if moderation was a legitimate goal for many or most alcoholics?
I mean, every alcoholic goes into treatment harboring the notion that responsible normal everyday drinking just might be possible for them. That's fine. Hope springs eternal. But if it were true for most of them, alcoholics would be shouting it from the rooftops--because everybody WANTS it to be true. The fact that most alcoholics discover that it is not true for them seems to trump the notion that somehow they are missing a middle ground they could choose to occupy.
How much did moderate management increase abstinence?
Participants who used the Moderation Management website alone drank a little less in each of the followups and were able to raise their average percent abstinence from 16 percent to a little over 20 percent. They were also able to reduce their scores on instruments assessing problem associated with drinking alcohol and their overall drinking problem severity. All changes lasted throughout the 12 month study period. Importantly, even on drinking days, these participants reduced their blood alcohol content (BAC) levels by almost 50 percent.
What is the purpose of the moderation approach?
The idea is to teach problem drinkers more responsible drinking habits so that they don't devolve their habits into all-out alcoholism. Not only is there evidence that the moderation approach works, but with the addition of a new website application that helps problem drinkers through an interactive web experience, ...
Why do alcoholics shout from rooftops?
But if it were true for most of them, alcoholics would be shouting it from the rooftops--because everybody WANTS it to be true. The fact that most alcoholics discover that it is not true for them seems to trump the notion that somehow they are missing a middle ground they could choose to occupy.
Is moderation good for addiction?
Following that logic, it makes a lot of sense to me to include the idea of moderation as another option in the addiction treatment arsenal. This is especially true in light of the fact that moderate drinking might be good for health and intervention research shows us that changing behavior is possible.
Is moderation a treatment goal?
And now there is even a treatment center focused on moderation as a treatment goal.
Does 12 step AA work?
It is high time the treatment establishment woke up and realized that 12 step and AA does not work, and to embrace modern medicine and psychiatric advances which are evidence rather than faith and abstinence based. The solution needs to fit the patient, not the practicioner.
Which study found that alcoholics are socially stable?
Nordström and Berglund, like Wallace et al. (1988), selected high-prognosis patients who were socially stable. The Wallace et al. patients had a high level of abstinence; patients in Nordström and Berglund had a high level of controlled drinking. Social stability at intake was negatively related in Rychtarik et al. to consumption as a result either of abstinence or of limited intake. Apparently, social stability predicts that alcoholics will succeed better whether they choose abstinence or reduced drinking. But other research indicates that the pool of those who achieve remission can be expanded by having broader treatment goals.
What percentage of alcoholism patients are moderate drinkers?
The importance of definitional criteria is evident in a highly publicized study (Helzer et al., 1985) that identified only 1.6 percent Of treated alcoholism patients as “moderate drinkers.” Not included in this category were an additional 4.6 percent of patients who drank without problems but who drank in fewer than 30 of the previous 36 months. In addition, Helzer et al. identified a sizable group (12%) of former alcoholics who drank a threshold of 7 drinks 4 times in a single month over the previous 3 years but who reported no adverse consequences or symptoms of alcohol dependence and for whom no such problems were uncovered from collateral records. Nonetheless, Helzer et al. rejected the value of CD outcomes in alcoholism treatment.
How long does it take to abstain from alcohol?
Vaillant (1983) found that 39 percent of his surviving patients were abstaining at 8 years. In the Rand study, 28 percent of assessed patients were abstaining after 4 years. Helzer et al. (1985), however, reported that only 15 percent of all surviving alcoholics seen in hospitals were abstinent at 5 to 7 years. (Only a portion of these patients were specifically treated in an alcoholism unit. Abstinence rates were not reported separately for this group, but only 7 percent survived and were in remission at follow-up.)
How many years after treatment do you drink alcohol?
In other studies of private treatment, Walsh et al. (1991) found that only 23 percent of alcohol-abusing workers reported abstaining throughout a 2-year follow-up, although the figure was 37 percent for those assigned to a hospital program. According to Finney and Moos (1991), 37 percent of patients reported they were abstinent at all follow-up years 4 through 10 after treatment. Clearly, most research agrees that most alcoholism patients drink at some point following treatment.
What is the dominant view of AA?
The position of ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (AA) and the dominant view among therapists who treat alcoholism in the United States is that the goal of treatment for those who have been dependent on alcohol is total, complete, and permanent abstinence from alcohol (and, often, other intoxicating substances). By extension, for all those treated ...
Why is controlled drinking important?
Summary. Controlled drinking has an important role to play in alcoholism treatment . Controlled drinking as well as abstinence is an appropriate goal for the majority of problem drinkers who are not alcohol-dependent.
Is controlled drinking more stable than abstinence?
Edwards et al. (1983) reported that controlled drinking is more unstable than abstinence for alcoholics over time, but recent studies have found that controlled drinking increases over longer follow-up periods. Finney and Moos (1991) reported a 17 percent “social or moderate drinking” rate at 6 years and a 24 percent rate at 10 years. In studies by McCabe (1986) and Nordström and Berglund (1987), CD outcomes exceeded abstinence during follow-up of patients 15 and more years after treatment. Hyman (1976) earlier found a similar emergence of controlled drinking over 15 years.
Who is the dominant view among therapists who treat alcoholism in the United States?
Stanton Peele. The position of ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (AA) and the dominant view among therapists who treat alcoholism in the United States is that the goal of treatment for those who have been dependent on alcohol is total, complete, and permanent abstinence from alcohol (and, often, other intoxicating substances).
What is the definition of abstinence?
In this case, abstinence is defined as the number of drug-free days or weeks during the treatment regimen— and measures of drug in urine are often used as objective indicators.
What is temperance in the United States?
Although temperance originally meant moderation, the nineteenth-century TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT'S emphasis on complete abstinence from alcohol and the mid-twentieth century's experience of the ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS movement have strongly influenced alcohol- and drug-abuse treatment goals in the United States.
Why is controlled drinking important?
Controlled drinking has an important role to play in alcoholism treatment . Controlled drinking as well as abstinence is an appropriate goal for the majority of problem drinkers who are not alcohol-dependent. In addition, while controlled drinking becomes less likely the more severe the degree of alcoholism, other factors—such as age, values, and beliefs about oneself, one's drinking, and the possibility of controlled drinking—also play a role, sometimes the dominant role, in determining successful outcome type. Finally, reduced drinking is often the focus of a harm-reduction approach, where the likely alternative is not abstinence but continued alcoholism.
Is controlled drinking more likely to be severe?
In addition, while controlled drinking becomes less likely the more severe the degree of alcoholism, other factors—such as age, values, and beliefs about oneself, one's drinking, and the possibility of controlled drinking—also play a role, sometimes the dominant role, in determining successful outcome type.