Alcoholism is the habitual ingestion of alcohol that leads to dependence. An alcoholic will continue to drink regardless of the damaging effects their usage has on their social, mental stability, and physical health. Alcohol dependence is a multi-factor social disease with bio-psychological and social beginnings. Alcoholics are influenced by the groups they belong to, which are family members and peers. Individuals that suffer from alcohol dependence become physically addicted. The more alcoholic drinks, the more they can tolerate.
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms include delirium tremens, sweating and shaking; elevated heart rate, rapid emotional changes, sleeping difficulties, vomiting, feeling nervous or jumpy, cognitive impairment, throbbing headaches, depression and anxiety. Alcohol can be compared with drugs, although it is legally available. “Drugs that are used to alter perceptions, states of consciousness, or moods, act on the brain” (Thakkar, 2006, p. 20). When individuals begin to reveal signs and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal they are in need of detoxification.
The process of recovery entails dedication and commitment. The person seeking recovery must be motivated to abstain from alcohol intoxication. Alcoholics must first recognize they have a problem with alcohol. They have to stay away from people who drink, places they frequent where they can access alcohol and things that may tempt them to drink. Treatment can be more successful if the problem is identified early, and may vary depending upon the individual. The combination of medication and support services can be helpful in assisting alcoholics to return to stable and healthy lifestyles.
Polish people migrated to the United States initially during the early 20th century. The Polish immigrants from Greenpoint were referred to as poor social class. The two programs that were found to assist Polish people were Outreach Project located at 960 Manhattan Avenue in Brooklyn and Unitas at 57 Saint Mark’s Place New York, NY 10003 (Heinlein 2006). The Polish go to Woodhull hospital to detoxify from their alcohol dependence which takes from three to five days. Within that period, addiction counselors must plan for their discharge. Treatment for alcoholics should be specific and available to the person who is willing to stop their negative behavior of alcohol consumption
Our group proposal is called Realistic Encounters Emphasizing Recovery (R.E.E.R.). Our group intends to address the needs of the Polish alcoholic who is seeking recovery. R.E.E.R is for Polish adults 21 years of age and older. One of our group leaders is Polish-speaking. Other group leaders will incorporate group members to participate with translations. One idea is to have bi-lingual members take turns and act as group leaders to promote the understanding within the group. Group members may feel more inclined to share with their peers as the creators of R.E.E.R.
Alcoholism is an problem that can be addressed through group therapy. During sessions, alcoholics will be able to discuss their issues and improve their ability to solve the problems. We will attempt to link our group members to community services, identify Polish social workers and programs to resolve other problems arising from alcohol dependence. “Treatment addresses the individual’s physical, psychological, emotional, and social conditions” (Lawton, 2006, p.313).
Some of the obstacles identified will be the language barriers, lack of resources, outreach and the differences within our cultures. Lack of understanding and education regarding the consequences of continued abuse presents another problematic aspect. Our group leaders should be aware of the Polish culture in order to be sensitive to this diverse community. We will treat all members with respect and help to address people’s needs. A person who is seriously considering or attempting to disengage in their alcohol consumption is at the beginning stage of recovery. For more information pertaining to R.E.E.R, you can contact Robbin, Edna, Edward, and Ruth.
Theoretical Orientation
Regarding Alcohol Addition, research shows that Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) has turned out to be valuable in treating alcoholism, especially when regarding the recovery part of the program (Buddy, 2008, n. p). Cognitive-behavioral treatment is a short-term, focused therapeutic approach for helping drug-dependent people become resistant to alcohol (Buddy, 2008, n. p.).
Developed by Dr. Aaron T. Beck in the 1970’s cognitive behavior therapy is based on the idea that feelings and behaviors are caused by person’s thoughts, not an outside motivator like people, situations, and events. People may not be able to change their circumstances, but they can change how they think about them and, therefore, change how they behave and treat the situation according to cognitive-behavior therapists (Corey, 2009).
In treatment for alcohol and drug dependence, the goal of cognitive behavioral therapy is to teach the person to distinguish situations in which they are inclined to drink, avoid these situations if possible, and cope with other problems leading to alcohol abuse.
There are two main constituents of cognitive behavior treatment: functional analysis and skills training. During the functional analysis, the doctors and the patients try to define the thoughts and behavior of patients before and after drink alcohol or consume drugs. This helps patient to distinguish the risks leading to a relapse (Buddy, 2008, n. p.). In skills training process if someone needs professional treatment for their alcohol or drug dependence, chances they are using alcohol or drugs as their main methods for coping with their problems. The goal of cognitive behavior therapy is to help the person’s skills (Corey, 2009).
Because cognitive behavior therapy is a structured, goal-oriented educational process focused on the immediate problems of the alcohol-dependent patient, the process does not last for a long time. Although other types of treatment can be time-consuming, cognitive behavior therapy is commonly accomplished within 12 to 16 sessions. (Buddy, 2008, n. p.).
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, about 24 approximately controlled trials have been held among users of alcohol, other kinds of addictive substances, converting different treatments into one of the most frequently estimated psychosocial methods to cure alcoholism and other types of addictions (Buddy, 2008, n. p.). As for other therapies for alcoholism, cognitive behavior treatment is the best in combination with other recovery attempts. (Buddy, 2008, n. p.).
Ethno-Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
When treating people originating from different cultural and ethnic environments, the health workers often encounter various complexities and aspects influencing the process of treatment. This is predominantly based on different traditional beliefs and peculiarities of health care systems. Besides, people can be also distinguished by means of language peculiarities, including different dialects and accents. Due to the fact that the USA has always witnessed the problematic situations based on different biases in terms of their origin and social status. In particular, the study of peculiarities connected with Polish people and their influence on their treatment of alcohol dependence will greatly contribute to the evaluation of the group under consideration.
It is obvious that each ethnic group has diverse physical problems and, therefore, they have various health needs correlated with their ethnic and cultural background and genetic hereditary. A combination of biological and cultural approaches can greatly simplify the treatment of the group (Cooke and Philpin, p. 82).
Apart from ethical aspects, a similar consideration deserves attention as well. Hence, language problems can provoke misunderstanding with the nursing staff that can experience difficulties while communicating with people and fail to understand the scope of the problems. Such situation is usually connected to unequal attitude of health care professionals to the group members, which is often predetermined by cultural and language barriers.
As the group under consideration consists of the Polish people, it is first necessary to consider the connection between cultural aspects and alcohol consumptions. It should be admitted that alcohol consumption can be referred as to an inherent part of social tradition. Polish people get accustomed to celebrating each possible event by drinking alcohol. (Heinlein 2006).
During the treatment of the groups, the members came across several misconceptions in treatment from the alcohol dependence, which connected with wrong perception of the purpose of alcohol consumption. In particular, Poles believe that alcohol is a healthy substance serving as a therapy against wretched whether. Besides, due to the political and social hard situation in the country the Poles often take to drink to drown their sorrows. Ethnical differences also explain why Polish people are more difficult to treat, because people are to consume alcohol since their childhood. Therefore, the average age of alcoholics in the group is rather low. Polish students consider it natural to consume alcohol, as they can inherit outright patterns of alcohol addiction from their families (Engs et al., 1990 n. p.).
The Polish members of the group were distinguished from American patterns of alcoholic consumption when people are prohibited by people until they are 21 years old. Besides, American patients are more eager to pass the treatment rather than the Polish, as some of them do not even acknowledge the fact of alcohol addiction. This especially concerns spirits wine and beer, which the consumed among the Poles. Besides, difference in pattern is also predetermined by the peculiarities of national and political system in Poland and the United State. Hence, the United States government imposes more strict laws on alcohol consumption.
In comparison with Polish patients, American patients consume alcohol for different purposes. For examples students and younger members of the group drink beer and other beverages to get drunk and look cool; this is a means to prove that they are independent enough and can drink what they want. Adult is intoxicated to lessen the influence of stress on organism. In other words, the reasons for the consumption are of psychological nature and behavior but not cultural. Different stresses at work and family conflicts are the main reasons for alcohol consumption.
Despite cultural and ethnic differences predetermining drinking, there exist some common factors influencing it. In particular, both Polish and Americans usually addict to alcohol when they need to lessen the pain and to find a relief. Then, adult drinkers do not consider intoxication as the main purpose of drinking, but the main means of stress treatment.
Another aspect of the study, the linguistic diversities provoke fewer difficulties than ethnocultural ones. The only problem that might emerge is a misunderstanding within the group that may cause cross-cultural conflict. The situation is aggravated because the Polish people are located in an alien setting with their own cultural and linguistic traditions.
To overcome the cultural and ethnic diversity, it is necessary to examine all peculiarities and traditions of Poland, its historical background. Then, American group member should express their understanding of the situation. Therefore, there should be a group leader who can reveal veritable information on cultural issues and shatter the existed myths about alcohol consumption. He/she should also make up a questionnaire for the Polish to cognate other psychological frictions with American people. More importantly, Poles should more familiar with American culture in terms of alcohol consumption for them to understand why alcohol is less welcomed in this country.
Reference
Buddy, T. (2008). Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Addition. About.com. Web.
Cooke H., and Philpin, S. (2008). Sociology in Nursing and Healthcare. US: Elsever Health Sciences.
Corey, G. (2004). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. US: Thomson Brookes.
Engs, R. C., Slavinska, J. B., and Hanson D. J, (1990). The drinking patterns of American and Polish Universities Students: a cross-national study.
Heinlein, S. (2006). Greenpoint’s Empty Space. The Brooklyn Rail. Web.
Lawton, S, A. (2006) Health Tips about the Physical and Mental Effects of Substance Abuse. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, Inc.
Thakkar, V, G. (2006) Addiction. New York, NY: Chelsea House