Treat alcoholics as sufferers, not sinners
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China has many institutions for the treatment of alcoholism. But some of these centers incorpo-rate a set of unhelpful and outdated principles. Most of the treatment for alcoholism in China at this point essentially starts from the premise that the person either can't control himself, has done something wrong, or has become clinically insane.
One of the largest things that's lacking in the treatment of alcoholism is the concept that an alcoholic is afflicted with a disease.
This concept describes alcoholism as an illness the same way that someone who has diabetes would need to watch their sugar intake, otherwise it could kill them. The characteristics of the disease are the physical addiction to alcohol as well as the psychological obsession with drinking.
There have been many strides at transforming this situation and a lot of progress has been made. Yet there are still a lot of misunderstandings and not enough efforts at many levels.
In order to make the necessary changes, the government, the medical industry and society all have to make better efforts to help treat China's millions of alcoholics.
For instance, the government should label alcoholism and other addictions as diseases and develop treatment programs which can address the problem based on this understanding. Health offices at all levels should promote this concept as well as further encourage education about appropriate ways to recover from alcoholism.
Part of the major difference is not punishing alcoholics but using a combination of medical and psychological counseling to treat them. Common treatment programs in many countries consist of a 30-day rehab where an individual is able to detox from alcohol and begin a process of group therapy.
Follow-up treatment is highly recommended, with many individuals joining community-based support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. The longer the person has some sort of support mechanism, the higher their chances of success can be.
A lot of this work is being done now in China and there are good treatment centers with qualified counselors but it doesn't seem to be enough. One of the areas that has been especially difficult for China to implement has been the follow-up treatment once an individual leaves an alcohol treatment center.
Other treatment centers still employ a harsh kind of "cure." This does have the effect of stopping the use of alcohol for a period of time. However, alcoholism is also characterized by frequent relapses and often the patients don't learn enough about the disease or develop a large enough support network to help them stay sober in the long term.
Also, perhaps the judicial system could acknowledge that alcoholism is a disease. In sentencing people who have committed crimes, like drunk driving for instance, they could also be forced to go to treatment. Many courts in the US, for instance, include a requirement for people to receive alcohol counseling as part of their sentence.
This understanding of the nature of alcoholism as a disease by the judges allows them to make decisions where they can try and help someone get treatment, rather than send them to jail for a long prison sentence.
With the increased awareness at the central level, more doctors and medical professionals would also better understand how to treat alcoholics. More education is still necessary so that doctors and hospitals understand what the best treatment options are.
For instance, there are several detox and rehabilitation centers which advertise themselves online as having a cure for alcoholism with over a 95 percent success rate. This information can be misleading, since the reality is that alcoholism is a very difficult disease to treat with many patients often returning to drinking after a brief period of abstinence.
Finally at the social level, there must also be a greater awareness of the dangers of over-drinking and an acceptance that not drinking is a choice.
In China the ability to drink heavily can be seen as a social benefit. Sometimes this can be fatal as there have been several cases of officials and business people drinking themselves to death at banquets. The attitude of forcing others to drink until they are drunk should be reexamined.
Hopefully, as continued awareness and more resources are channeled toward fighting alcoholism in China, more people will be able to get help, remain sober and return to being productive members of society.
The author is a project assistant at APCO Worldwide, a global communications consultancy. viewpoint@globaltimes.com. cn
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