chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial. Each of these symptoms may be continuous or periodic (Morse & Flavin, 1992, p. 1013).
Noting that the vested interests of the American treatment community may help explain why US practitioners hold fast to the disease model while those in other countries do not, Bride and Nackerud (2000) conclude
...