Assessment, Intervention and Treatment of Alcoholism

Alcohol is the most widely consumed chemical worldwide. Drinking alcohol is as much a part of daily life as having food. People who have been drinking excess amounts of alcohol for long periods of time are exposing themselves to the risk of developing serious and persistent changes in the brain. The effect of alcohol on the brain may be direct or indirect depending upon general health status of the person. This chapter will discuss the effect of alcohol on brain.

Psychological or mental health disturbances in alcoholism are extremely common and at times may comorbid with other disorders too. Alcoholism may be the cause of these disturbances like anxiety or depression or vice versa. An understanding of the nature of these disturbances and their role in the genesis and maintenance of alcoholism : the disease, may go a long way in understanding, prevention and treatment of alcoholism

Toxicokinetic modelling via a compartmental approach offers a convenient visualization towards the biological process of alcohol and this is particularly helpful in drink-driving prosecution when the time BAC retrospect extrapolation is needed. Despite the concentration-time profile outlining, the compartmental model also serves as a good reference in pharmacokinetic parameters qualifying which is essential to clinical application. The pathologist is frequently asked in either written opinions or in court testimony to give an estimate of the behavioural state of a victim at a certain level of blood alcohol or after having taken a specified amount of drink. A general level of knowledge can be offered to the lawyer, police or court, however, especially in respect of the usual level of capability and consciousness at different blood-alcohol levels.

Abstract

This chapter explores alcoholism from a bio-psycho-social-cultural-environmental-spiritual perspective. It provides an overview on various contributing factors from these areas to the emergence of alcohol dependency and addiction and how this differs from alcohol misuse and use.

This chapter includes psychological & Behavioural impact of alcoholism on individual, what should be taken care to dealing with these people, how we can help them as a friend, family member or counselor.

Alcoholism can be denoted as dependence on alcohol leading to addiction. Alcoholism, as is known, can have a detrimental effect on one’s mental and physical health. Recovery or de-addiction process is also difficult due to various factors including withdrawal symptoms. Various psychotherapies are used in order to help the affected persons deal with the situation and recover. One such group of therapies collectively known as body psychotherapies can positively contribute to the process of de-addiction. Body psychotherapies is an umbrella term for various psychotherapies that believe in integration of physiological or somatic, emotional, mental, spiritual and social aspects of an individual. The focus of these psychotherapies is on somatic healing and developing somatic awareness. One of the main proponents of body psychotherapies was Wilhelm Reich, though there are various body psychotherapies that are available today. To name a few, Chiron Body Psychotherapy, Hakomi, Rolfing’s Structural Integration, Postural integration, Body-Mind Centering, Body-Mind Psychotherapy and Integrated body psychotherapy. The main assumption of body psychotherapies is that there exits a functional unity between the psychological physiological aspects of a human being and thus a relationship exists between the psychological processes and somatic manifestations. The techniques involved in these psychotherapies mainly focus on breathing, physical movement and even touch. The present chapter will thus focus on how body psychotherapies can be applied to alcohol de-addiction. The chapter will provide an introduction to body psychotherapies, covering its assumptions and principles. Various body psychotherapies will also be discussed with a focus on the techniques. Further, how body psychotherapies can be applied to alcohol deduction will also be focused on. Studies and research carried in this context will also be highlighted. The chapter will also discuss the role of the psychotherapists and the challenges and issues faced while applying body psychotherapies to alcohol de-addiction.

The chapter will cover the the definition of mindfulness, the hypothesized mechanisms by which it works, the exercises and research pertaining to the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for alcoholism. As alcoholism does not occur in isolation and many co-morbid conditions exist, the chapter will also briefly cover the effect of mindfulness-based strategies on these disorders.