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Alcohol: How to Give It Up and Be Glad You Did
This practical, comprehensive, and easy to use book helps alcohol abusers understand their behavior, but provides practical steps that anyone can use to solve an alcohol problem. Written by a cognitive-behavioral psychologist, this book includes chapters on overcoming low self-esteem, depression, stress, attending self-help groups, and living a better life after quitting. Each chapter contains specific self-help techniques. Recommended by SMART Recovery.
226 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1992
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April 7, 2022
The book is really poorly written – it's simplistic, I couldn't help feeling the author was patronising the reader, talking down from a position of inflated self-importance … and it's interwoven with clumsy attempts to appear 'street wise' and in touch with the world of the problem drinker or drug user.
The book is aimed at people with alcohol problems, but there's an attempt to bolt on advice for those who have problems with drugs – without differentiating between problems with prescribed drugs and problems with illegal narcotics. The author makes a serious error in trying to group all these different 'substances' into one category of 'abuse' or 'addiction' when, in fact, they may be widely different in their aetiology and in the approach necessary to engage with the problem.
And, while the book clearly presents itself as a challenger to the industry leader – Alcoholics Anonymous – it fails to actually challenge AA. Rational Emotive Therapy is the brainchild of Albert Ellis (who writes an anaemic introduction to the book), and this is a poor explication of Ellis' theories.
Tate dismisses AA as inviting drinkers to trust in some deity or 'Higher Power' – AA emerged from Right-wing, Evangelical Christian roots in the post-Prohibition era in the USA. It has tried to broaden its reach – no longer repeatedly referring to some god (initially a Christian one), but instead invoking this 'Higher Power'. Tate and Ellis are perfectly justified in rejecting the religious packaging, but they fail to challenge AA's role as market leader in promoting the idea that alcohol abuse is a medical problem – AA defines 'alcoholism' as a disease, and upholds a 'disease model' of alcohol 'treatment' which assumes there can be no cure, only lifelong abstenance, meaning that punters who follow their guidance are forever damned to be 'recovering', they can never be 'cured'.
In fact, there is considerable evidence that AA, despite its huge political clout in the USA, achieves very little in the way of positive results. And the belief that total abstinence is the only answer has been shown to be a fallacy.
And yet Tate insists on adhering to this AA dogma of total abstinence – he dismisses the religiosity of AA yet somehow adheres to their doctrine of disease (presumably through some genetic predisposition, because not everyone who drinks has problems with alcohol, etc.). He might claim that he is rejecting the 'disease model' but, if total abstinence is the answer, he seems to be endorsing the notion that some people are genetically predisposed to have problems.
Tate makes the error of seeing problems of 'addiction' as having the same causes – not just alcohol and drugs, but gambling, sex, etc.
I always come back to the question, if people are having problems through use of alcohol or drugs, the very first question you have to ask is what problems are they trying to escape? Why do they need alcohol or drugs to make life tolerable? I've worked with homeless street drinkers and drug users as well as with people from comfortable middle class homes and backgrounds. There's a world of difference.
Dealing with people's problems on an individual level is labour intensive and time consuming … not to mention intellectually and emotionally challenging. You have to listen to the individual, work with the individual, not force him/her to fit into your therapeutic model. You can't provide a one-size-fits-all off-the-peg therapy, you have to tailor your engagement to the individual's needs and problems (and personal skills).
The task is not to challenge the punter to recognise the problems they create for themselves and others by drinking or using drugs, the challenge is to discover why they need that crutch in the first place.
Tate's book is simplistic. There are maybe a couple of interesting sentences … there are chapters full of verbiage.
And, of course, it's American – there are limited options in terms of state provided welfare and 'treatment', the assumption is that the choice for the punter is between joining some self-help group (dominated by AA) or employing a therapist (to drain your wallet while indoctrinating you into whatever lunatic ideas they have - past life regression, alien abduction, etc., etc.). Of course, many people will be hurled into a treatment programme by the courts – hardly a voluntary 'patient' status.
The underlying message which comes through from the book is one of promoting a brand – Tate is selling punters on his Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy. American books make this assumption that 'treatment' and 'therapy' are commercial options – if you can afford them, you buy them. Some are more fashionable than others, some more prestigious, some less expensive. It's about making people punters – looking for 'treatment', you're gambling when you pick a therapist. Most of them can produce precious little evidence of effectiveness … and a lot of them tend to assume the punter will spend a lifetime paying for therapy.
I really am fast coming to the conclusion that I have to write my own guide to alcohol problems – there must be room for a Scottish Anarchist to open up a humanistic arena in which we can all engage with our problems?
The book is aimed at people with alcohol problems, but there's an attempt to bolt on advice for those who have problems with drugs – without differentiating between problems with prescribed drugs and problems with illegal narcotics. The author makes a serious error in trying to group all these different 'substances' into one category of 'abuse' or 'addiction' when, in fact, they may be widely different in their aetiology and in the approach necessary to engage with the problem.
And, while the book clearly presents itself as a challenger to the industry leader – Alcoholics Anonymous – it fails to actually challenge AA. Rational Emotive Therapy is the brainchild of Albert Ellis (who writes an anaemic introduction to the book), and this is a poor explication of Ellis' theories.
Tate dismisses AA as inviting drinkers to trust in some deity or 'Higher Power' – AA emerged from Right-wing, Evangelical Christian roots in the post-Prohibition era in the USA. It has tried to broaden its reach – no longer repeatedly referring to some god (initially a Christian one), but instead invoking this 'Higher Power'. Tate and Ellis are perfectly justified in rejecting the religious packaging, but they fail to challenge AA's role as market leader in promoting the idea that alcohol abuse is a medical problem – AA defines 'alcoholism' as a disease, and upholds a 'disease model' of alcohol 'treatment' which assumes there can be no cure, only lifelong abstenance, meaning that punters who follow their guidance are forever damned to be 'recovering', they can never be 'cured'.
In fact, there is considerable evidence that AA, despite its huge political clout in the USA, achieves very little in the way of positive results. And the belief that total abstinence is the only answer has been shown to be a fallacy.
And yet Tate insists on adhering to this AA dogma of total abstinence – he dismisses the religiosity of AA yet somehow adheres to their doctrine of disease (presumably through some genetic predisposition, because not everyone who drinks has problems with alcohol, etc.). He might claim that he is rejecting the 'disease model' but, if total abstinence is the answer, he seems to be endorsing the notion that some people are genetically predisposed to have problems.
Tate makes the error of seeing problems of 'addiction' as having the same causes – not just alcohol and drugs, but gambling, sex, etc.
I always come back to the question, if people are having problems through use of alcohol or drugs, the very first question you have to ask is what problems are they trying to escape? Why do they need alcohol or drugs to make life tolerable? I've worked with homeless street drinkers and drug users as well as with people from comfortable middle class homes and backgrounds. There's a world of difference.
Dealing with people's problems on an individual level is labour intensive and time consuming … not to mention intellectually and emotionally challenging. You have to listen to the individual, work with the individual, not force him/her to fit into your therapeutic model. You can't provide a one-size-fits-all off-the-peg therapy, you have to tailor your engagement to the individual's needs and problems (and personal skills).
The task is not to challenge the punter to recognise the problems they create for themselves and others by drinking or using drugs, the challenge is to discover why they need that crutch in the first place.
Tate's book is simplistic. There are maybe a couple of interesting sentences … there are chapters full of verbiage.
And, of course, it's American – there are limited options in terms of state provided welfare and 'treatment', the assumption is that the choice for the punter is between joining some self-help group (dominated by AA) or employing a therapist (to drain your wallet while indoctrinating you into whatever lunatic ideas they have - past life regression, alien abduction, etc., etc.). Of course, many people will be hurled into a treatment programme by the courts – hardly a voluntary 'patient' status.
The underlying message which comes through from the book is one of promoting a brand – Tate is selling punters on his Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy. American books make this assumption that 'treatment' and 'therapy' are commercial options – if you can afford them, you buy them. Some are more fashionable than others, some more prestigious, some less expensive. It's about making people punters – looking for 'treatment', you're gambling when you pick a therapist. Most of them can produce precious little evidence of effectiveness … and a lot of them tend to assume the punter will spend a lifetime paying for therapy.
I really am fast coming to the conclusion that I have to write my own guide to alcohol problems – there must be room for a Scottish Anarchist to open up a humanistic arena in which we can all engage with our problems?
May 26, 2008
This is a book from the Not-AA camp--the more rational recovery way of doing things. If AA hasn't been helpful to you, know that there is another way.
To learn more, go to SMART recovery dot 0rg.
To learn more, go to SMART recovery dot 0rg.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews