New Thinking in Alcohol Treatment

The common thinking that an addict had to emotionally buy into the need for treatment in order to begin recovery, essentially self-diagnose himself as an alcoholic,  is now in question.

In one of the classic texts on the subject, Loosening the Grip: A Handbook of Alcohol Information by Jean Kinney, the author asserts that this is no longer considered necessary.  She says”

“The addict needs to be convinced, by a preponderance of experiential and anecdotal facts that the diagnosis of alcoholism is true – he doesn’t need to be happy about it.” (Who would be?)

This is a significant departure from formerly accepted theory.  No longer need time be spent trying to get the addict to emotionally accept the fact of his illness.  It’s enough that the professional provide irrefutable proof of addiction, such that the addict cannot dispute it.