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Can an Alcoholic
Ever Resume Drinking?
F
or nearly two decades there has
been a smoldering controversy
over whethe r an alcoholic can ever
resume "normal drinking." On
June 9, 1976, it burst into flames
with the release of a report on a l–
coholism by the Rand Corpora–
tion, Santa Monica, California.
The reporl suggested that some
a lcoholics can, after treatment, re–
sume normal drinking without
risking a relapse. The three au–
thors of the report concluded that
"relapse rates for normal drinkers
are no higher than those for
longer-term abstainers."
Thc researchers emphasized in
their report that they were not rec–
ommending that alcoholics resume
drinking. They agreed that th ere
are alcoholics who cannot drink
without gc tting into serious trouble
but added that there is no way to
tell in adva nce who they are.
The conclusions of the report
were con troversia! enough; unfor–
tunately, the news media ex–
acerbated the issue by giving the
story such a larmingly dangerous
headlines as "Study Suggests Alco–
holic, Treated, Can Drink Safely,"
despite the cautionary notes given
in the report. The result was a fi re–
storm of angry cri ti cism from
scorcs of rcsea rchers a nd para–
professionals in the field of alco–
holism. Many expressed the fear
that lhe reporl's concl usions and
th e way the media reported them
would endanger the lives of some
alcoholics by encouraging them to
resume drinking.
30
On July 1, the National Council
on Alcoholism sponsored a press
conference in Washington, D.C., in
which 11 wide ly respected re–
searchers in the field of alcoholism
rebutted the Rand report. Some of
the weaknesses in methodology
they cited were:
( 1) All data were based on th e
clients' se lf-reports of the quantity
of alcoho l consumed. with no ob–
jective verification, such as blood
samples to determine alcohol con–
centration.
(2) The actual number of
patients interviewed was too small
a percentage of the original num–
ber of alcohol ics being investi–
gated. Six months after treatment.
researchers were ab le to locate
only 20.6% of the 11,500 patients
they origi na lly included in the sur–
vey. After 18 months they were able
to Iocate only 62% of the 2,161
designated to be su rveyed. Com–
bining the 6- and 18-month studies.
over 70% of the pa ti ents weren't
interviewed. Dr. David Pittman has
shown the harder an alcoho lic is to
locate for follow-up in terviews, the
more severe his problem with alco–
ho l is likely to be.
(3) The reporting period of 18
month s is too sho rt a time to de–
cide tha t "normal drinkers" will
not relapse. Dr. John Ewi ng, direc–
tor of the Center for Alcoho l Slud–
ies at thc University of North
Carolina. conducted a study for
controlled drinking ovcr a period
of over 55 months. He fo und that
"the results looked promising in
the first 12 to 18 months. It was
only whcn we did a lo ng- term fol–
low-up ranging from 27 to 55
months since trea tment ended that
we detected a universal failure to
maintain controlled drinking."
(4) Thc maximum amount of al–
cohol consumption considered by
the Rand researchers to be " nor–
mal" is considcred by others to be
excessive.
The Rand report is not th e first
re port to s uggest that sorne alco–
ho lics may resume drinking. And a
couple of new reports have been
released si nce the Rand report
making simi la r conclusions. But
most people work ing with alcohol–
ics would emphatically agree with
Dr. Jokichi Takamine, chairman of
the American Medical Association
Committee on Alcoholism: "Absti–
nence must remain the foundation
of recovery for the alcoholic."
- people who have never s uc–
ceeded, never accomplished any–
thing in t hei r life. Learn ing to
perform rudimentary tasks in occu–
pational therapy can provide posi–
tive reinforcement tha t enables
them to tackle bigger tasks and
problems of everyday living.
A Rebirth
The hcart and core of evcry reha–
bi lita ti on program is group therapy.
Here the a lcoho lic faces the reality
of himself - his problems, needs.
and aspirations. He also faces the
rcality of o ther pcopl c who, he often
discovers, are cut from the same
frag ile, imperfect cloth.
"We try to improve their se lf–
image. In the deepest part of the ir
being, alcoho li cs don't Ii ke them–
selves. Thcy fee l very infer ior." says
George Richardson, a nother taff
counselo r. " By getting everyone to
come out from beh ind his sh ield.
each alcoholic learns that he is n't
any d ifferent from anyone else. This
he lps him to accept others a nd cope
with a nge r, rcscntme nt, and frustra–
ti on ra ther than d rink. "
The de tox un it at St. Luke Hospi–
ta l across town is larger and the pro–
g ram somewhat different. But it too
is a ben ign assau lt on a Iosing, de–
structive life-stylc. Wh ile being de–
toxificd at St. Luke Hospita l, the
alcoholic patient is evaluated for the
fo llowing 2 1-day program designed
to help him clean up - a nd dry up
- his act a nd get a new and winning
s how on the road. As Bob C., a re–
covered alcoholic, put it. "Sobriety
is the tip of the iceberg. Wha t is
involved is a brand new li fe, a new
beg inning. l f 1 may say so, a
rebirth ."
Sean Hamilton, community ser–
vices coordinator for S
t.
Luke's detox
uni t, ex.pla ined that "we eva luate
every aspect ofthc patienl's life physi–
ca lly, psychologica lly, socia lly, and
even spiritua lly. Each pa tient is given
a comple te physica l, not only to diag–
nose alcoho l- related diseases but any
o ther a ilments he may have. We have
physica l therapy fo r those who need
it. 1f the alcoho lic has problems wi th
hisjob, we bring in the employer. lfhe
is dissa tisfied wi th his job, we inter–
view h im for voca ti onal rehabilita–
tion.
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1976