Experiments in Referral to Alcoholism Clinics

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Approximately 200 alcoholic patients, consisting primarily of subjects with serious social problems, criminality, destitution, and severe pathology, were the participants in 4 demonstration projects in 3 different institutions: a general hospital emergency ward, an adult female correctional institution, and a male juvenile correctional institution. Previous experience showed that less than 1% attended alcoholism clinics following referral from these settings. With these patients, usually described as "unreachable," 3 different types of projects were designed to demonstrate that the referral process could be improved so that existing resources would be utilized more effectively. Physicians, social workers and other personnel applied a variety of techniques, including intensive individual interviews, active help, and group meetings, as a means of engaging the prereferral patients in an effective relationship. In 2 of the institutional demonstrations the project personnel came from the clinics to which referral was to be made, and the same therapists continued to work with the patients in the outpatient clinic. In comparison with the previous record all the experiments were strikingly successful. In the various experiments, from 43 to 66% of these poorly motivated categories of alcoholics were induced to come for repeated visits to clinical settings. Further, from 26 to over 50% of the several groups remained in treatment despite many environmental problems and limited or nonexistent ancillary community resources. The low utilization rate of therapeutic services by alcoholics can be overcome by techniques which give positive sanction to goals that usually have negative sanctions.

This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit: