| Description |
1 online resource (xi, 212 pages) |
| Summary |
"The purpose of this book is threefold: to show alcoholism in a new light, as the result not of sin but sickness, and that sickness psychological; to describe its cure on a basis not of physical restraint but mental liberation; and to suggest preventive measures for the individual and for society as a whole. What the lay reader may find most novel in this book is the modern, scientific view, confirmed by the author's own experience as psychologist and educator, that intemperate drinking is not a vicious physical habit or a sign of moral degradation but the pathological expression of an inner need, a deeper lying mental trouble, which requires professional treatment like any physical disease. On the plight of the problem-drinker society has hitherto set the seal of shame and despair, but regarded in its true light both are seen to be out of place |
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By the problem-drinker, as I prefer to call the alcoholic, I mean the man or woman for whom drink has become a problem or who by his drinking has been made a problem to society. It follows, from the point of view expressed above, that to attack his drinking would be to get nowhere; for the drinking itself is not the disease, merely the socially conspicuous symptom. What is needed is not the reformation of the drinker, but the integration of the man. That this cannot be achieved by the authoritarian, restrictive measures of the past is indicated by the record of our failures. Modern therapy emphasizes the self-development of the patient and this can only be achieved in an atmosphere of freedom. Once a man has gained mental equilibrium, he no longer needs to seek the fugitive support of alcohol or any other escape mechanism; the symptom automatically disappears when the disease is cured. The method of cure outlined in this book has been proved effective by my personal experience |
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The implications of my subject have led me briefly to consider the problem also in its larger, social aspects. It is my hope that the family physician, the clergyman, the welfare worker and even the public administrator--in fact, all who come in contact with the drink problem--will derive something of value from these reflections"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved) |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references |
| Subject |
Alcoholism -- Treatment.
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Mental health.
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Mental Health
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mental health.
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Alcoholism -- Treatment
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Mental health
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| Author |
APA PsycBOOKS
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