he body is given some strength and renewal that the patient can fully address the psychosocial components of the problem.
In terms of the social issues of treatment, the point is made in the paper that tensions and fears leading to excessive drinking and dependence are often social or inter-relational in nature. It is stated that therapy must, therefore, address these issues. Philosophic and spiritual issues are included as part of the social issues of treatment; dealing with these matters is said to be important in order to provide patients with hope and promise for an alcohol-free future.
Regarding public issues that must be part of a comprehensive treatment program, these involve the need for therapists and physicians treating the disorder to inform the public. Specifically, it is noted that it is the duty of both counselors and doctors to inform the public about the nature of the disease and about factors known to be helpful in treating the condition. In other words, public issues involve a sort of advocacy approach for treatment.
ALCOHOL, STRESS AND SOCIETY: THE 19TH-CENTURY ORIGINS OF THE
This paper takes a historical look at the thesis that people drink to reduce uncomfortable or painful (often neurotic) levels of tension and fear, a thesis commonly referred to as The Tension Reduction Hypothesis (TRH). This hypothesis in its earliest form was said to be articulated during the 1980s by the Association for the Study and Cure of Inebriety. However, it was not until the twentieth century that the hypothesis was first subjected to any empirical testing.
Mark Lender, the author of this paper, makes the point that the TRH notion was essentially derived from the observation that the increases in industrialization of various countries appeared to be associated with increases in alcoholism. In other words, the new society and its pressures were literally driving people to drink.
The foregoing notion was perv...