ABSTINENCE MUST BE THE TARGET

Abstinence, not controlled drinking, should be the primary treatment objective for all clinitians dealing with alcoholics, according to the director of the Alcohol Behavior Research Laboratory, Rutgers University.

"That is my view at this point and on the basis of the dada available" keynote speaker Dr. Peter Nathan told the converence on Behavioral Approaches to Alcoholism and Drug Dependencies, held at the University of Washington, Seattle.

"I have strong disagreement with others in the field".

"Also, on the basis of data available, we cannot now nor perhaps will we ever be in a position to say to the alcoholic who has been sober, "We can now offer you the opportunity to return to drinking and help you to be a controlled drinker".

"We do not have that ability, anyone who tells you that we do, is a liar."

On the other hand, he said, many alcoholics have tried to achieve abstinence repeatedly over the course of a very lengthy drinking history and have failed.

"In my view, again based on the data we have available, it may be that efforts to teach controlled drinking for these people may produce a more desireable effect than seeing them continue a pattern of uncontrolled drinking."

"In this case, less drinking is better than more drinking. It is probably not as good as no drinking, " said Dr. Nathan.

"This whole treatment aim stemmed from the widely held conviction that alcoholism is a progressive, irreversible disease characterized by loss-of-control drinking, and a profound craving for alcohol during sobriety.

The belief that a single drink by the dry alcoholic inevitably leads to loss-of-control drinking has been reinforced through the years by Alcoholics Anonymous which considers total abstinence to be its only treatment goal."

"I think it is important on the basis of what must be considered admittedly preliminary outcome data that controlled drinking may well be an appropriate treatment objective for some individuals, but an inappropriate treatment objective for many others."

DR. PETER NATHAN

DON SAYS: I can see where Dr Nathan is coming from, and I disagree. I along with Alcoholics Anonymous believe that complete abstinence is necessary. "Controlled drinking" sounds great to the alcoholic, and in some few cases it may work. The alcoholic could possibly hold for a short period of time, however, somewhere along the line he or she will go on a spree, living it up, and thusly losing complete control, returning to out of control drinking. This can only be prevented by complete abstinence. This is coming from the mouth of a previously out of control alcoholic.