Often times when there is an alcohol related incident occurs, it could have been prevented. We like to educate people about standard serving sizes/effects per drink because people can to over-consume alcohol if they are not being conscientious. We also like to talk about safety. Social norms at parties, bars, clubs and social gatherings often times cause people to “go with the flow” when it comes to consuming alcohol. With that being said, a lack of planning can often lead to some pretty severe consequences and feelings of regret. Our ADAPT team encourages people to “think before they drink”. This way, members can make informed, goal orientated, and values based decisions regarding their drinking behaviors.
In terms of treatment if anybody feels they have a problem with alcohol, we encourage them to seek help by contacting our office. We recognize that ADAPT can have a stigma around it as it is a military program. Although we stand by the great services we provide, we also encourage people to seek out confidential AA, Smart Recovery or other local or online support groups if they feel worried about enrolling into ADAPT. The best time to seek help is early to prevent issues from “snowballing” out of control. Too often, we have members that wait to seek help until their health problems become very severe or they are facing very severe consequences.
Treatment consists of an evaluation to determine proper level of care. Once that is established, we determine if the patient just needs a basic education (can typically be accomplished in 2-3 30 minute sessions) Level 1 Treatment (This is individual and group based counseling. Members will typically have weekly appointments until they complete their treatment goals). Additionally, during the evaluation process we sometimes find members will need a referral to receive a higher level of care. This happens when members have needs that are too intense for us to monitor at our clinical setting and we then will connect them with resources to meet their needs.