Alcohol Moderation Management: Steps To Control Drinking

As you grapple with these questions, you come to understand that comprehending your relationship with addiction is an intensely personal journey. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, as each person’s experience is unique, and what may work for one individual might not be effective for another. This realization adds another layer of complexity to your internal struggle, leaving you searching for answers that can help illuminate the best path forward. The goal of a moderation program is to support a person’s journey toward understanding their drinking behavior and create a safe environment for them to explore how to drink moderately. Moderate or “controlled” drinking is a harm reduction approach tailored toward people with a drinking problem who do not exhibit the symptoms of physical dependence on alcohol. Alcohol had taken its toll—her job, friends, family, and health had all suffered—and she wanted it out of her life.

Moderation Management vs. Total Abstinence Dilemma

Some clinicians and researchers posit that the field’s current emphasis on abstinence-based recovery may fail to engage many individuals with SUD because of perceptions that a goal of abstinence is required to engage with care. From a broader public health perspective, increasing access to effective SUD interventions and recovery support services is likely to enhance their overall impact (Glasgow et al., 2003). Many individuals with an alcohol use disorder that wish to change their drinking, however, have a goal of moderation – sometimes referred to as “harm reduction” – rather than complete abstinence. Indeed, moderation appears to be a viable pathway to alcohol use disorder remission for some. Identifying who will be most likely to respond to these moderation-focused alcohol treatments will be key to clinical recommendations and policies related to moderation versus abstinence.

Treatment for Opiate Addiction: One-on-one vs. Group Therapy

The evaluation consists of 11 yes or no questions that are intended to be used as an informational tool to assess the severity and probability of a substance use disorder. The test is free, confidential, and no personal information is needed to receive the result. As such, I think these results are very encouraging in terms of offering controlled drinking vs abstinence another possible solution for individuals who are looking to reduce their alcohol consumption and the problems that keep creeping up along with it. Lastly, this being a study, it is very possible that participants were better motivated, more informed, and more likely to put in the effort required to use the moderatedrinking.org program.

Moderation Management vs. Total Abstinence Dilemma

Data were weighted using the method of iterative proportional fitting so as to represent the US civilian population (Battaglia et al., 2009). A total of 2,002 individuals who had resolved an AOD problem were included in the final analyses. We are committed in helping individuals, families and communities achieve full recovery and freedom from drug and alcohol addiction. “I feel the central benefit in prescribing moderation as a goal for the suitable problem drinker is that additional suffers may take up the chance to explore treatment who would otherwise be intimidated by total abstinence” said Heather. Kenneth Anderson, founder of HAMS, a centre in Lower Manhattan promoting ‘harm reduction for alcoholism’ argues total abstinence is not always the ideal objective of treatment.

Is abstinence the only way?

She returned to AA, then fell off the wagon, drunk-driving in March 2000 and killing a man and his 12-year-old daughter. She was released from prison in 2003, and in 2014, plagued by guilt and other demons, Kishline killed herself. There was no therapist in the room, and the moderator, a two-year MM “veteran”, gently steered people away from delving too deeply into issues that might be better addressed in therapy. Upstairs from one of my favorite Oakland dive bars, 10 people of varying ages and backgrounds are sitting in a circle, talking about their drinking problem. If you believe you or someone you love may be struggling with addiction, let us hear your story and help you determine a path to treatment.