As a counselor for both in-class and online 15 hour drug classes I am hyper-sensitive to issues involving my colleagues. For addicts, abstinence is mandatory. There should be no occasional use.
How can it be that about half of addiction counselors recently surveyed said it is acceptable for at least some of their patients who are alcoholics to have a drink occasionally?. As reported in psychcentral.com.
In an earlier survey published in 1994, about 25 percent of the responding administrators of substance abuse treatment agencies found moderate drinking acceptable for some of their clients.
When asked about treating clients who abuse drugs, about half the counselors in the new study accepted moderate drug use as an intermediate goal and one-third as a final goal — about the same as a similar survey 10 years ago.
Are you kidding me – 1/3 as a final goal?
At least three-quarters said they would not approve of limited or moderate consumption for clients with alcohol or drug dependence, as either an intermediate or final goal. This is a no-brainer.
For me, allowing consumptions sends the wrong message, is not effective and is not consistent with their treatment philosophy.
Not surprisingly, limited or moderate substance use appears less acceptable to counselors in the United States than in several other countries.
In Great Britain, alcohol and drug treatment agencies found 86 percent considered continued use acceptable as an intermediate goal and 81 percent found it acceptable as a final goal for clients with a history of alcohol abuse. No wonder why there are so many with drinking problems in Great Britain.
Startlingly, 68 percent accepted continued use as an intermediate goal and 50 percent as a final goal for clients with alcohol dependence.
For any addict, abstinence has to be the ultimate goal 100% of the time. Tapering is fine, but recreational use is out of the question.