Alcohol Dependency: A Narrative Analysis

Growing up, I dealt with a mother who struggled with addiction; to be unambiguous, she was an alcoholic. She drowned in her alcoholism as it pulled her down an alarming road. She was dreadfully depressed and believed that alcohol was the only way to make her feel better, addiction blinded her from what a great life she could have ahead of her. Not a single member of our family knew how to help her comprehend how much happier she would be if she could stop drinking her sorrows away. When it came to family events, my mom would try to conform to how others were acting and act “sober” even though she was already countless drinks deep in to drinking. Nevertheless, my mother just wanted others to like her which would lead her to change her outward

Rather than trying to transform or change the person and create a new “desirable” human all together, narrative therapy leans towards the goal of transforming the

A man or a woman suffers, they have a distinct physical desire to consume alcohol beyond their capacity to control it, regardless of all rules of common sense. The symtoms of being an alcoholic is having rituals and being irritated/annoyed when these rituals are disturbed or commented on. This could be drinks before/during/after meals or after work. Dropping hobbies and activities the person used to enjoy; losing interest in them. A person who abuses alcohol may have many of these signs and symtoms- but they do not have the withdrawal symtoms like an alcoholic does, nor the same degree of compulsion to drink. Then comes along, binge drinking. When a woman consumes over six units and a man consumes more than eight units of alcohol in one sitting. Sipping wine, beer, or spirits three or four times per week increases the risk of binge drinking. Men who drink 22 or more units of alcohol a week have a 20% higher rate of admissions into acute care hospitals than non-drinkers. Healthy young adults who regularly binge drink may have a higher risk of heart disease later in life. "Underage drinking should not be a normal part of growing up. It's a serious and persistent public health problem that puts our young people and our communities in danger. Even though drinking is often glamorized, the truth is that

My relationship with drugs first began during my senior year of high school. While most of my peers attended their first parties years earlier, my first was not until I was already 17 years old. I still remember feeling so cool for attending my first party and having my first sip of alcohol. The feeling of being drunk was unlike anything I had ever felt before. I felt liberated, like I could break out of my quiet shell and be that fun, goofy person that everyone wanted to hang out with. Prior to this night I had never used any type of substance, legal or illegal. Since then I have continued using alcohol while also trying various different types of drugs including caffeine, marijuana, tobacco, and adderall.

Addiction is a disease that I will battle for the rest of my life. After being sexually assaulted at the age of twelve, I started to self-destruct. Lack of parental support, less than pristine living conditions, and an addictive personality paved an expressway to a life of addiction. I chose to hang with undesirable people, and was introduced to Marijuana, LSD, Ecstasy, PCP, Cocaine, Heroin and eventually what became the love of my life, the prescription painkiller Morphine. Never did I think that trying pot would have a domino effect. It led me to try harder and more addictive substances ultimately turning my life upside down. Often publicly

When narrative therapy first came into my life, I was not able to realize its brilliance. I had the misconception that the modality found where problems stemmed from and then showed clients how to cope with problems when they reoccur. Then I saw narrative therapy in action during a session with clients of my colleagues. The idea of problems being outsiders intruding on the system was fascinating and co-authoring a new narrative with a client sounded fulfilling. When all of a client’s knowledge is considered socially constructed rather than learned, it helps the therapist to see the client and the client’s problems as separate entities. Meaning becomes attributed to these problems through the client’s interactions with their social environment.

According to the DMS-5, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders issued by the American Psychiatric Association, the Alcohol Use Disorder is defined as “a problematic pattern of alcohol use leading to clinically significant impairment of distress, as manifested by at least two symptoms of the eleven in their diagnostic criteria occurring within a 12-month period. These symptoms demonstrates activities such as, alcohol being often taken in larger amounts over a long period of time, a persistent desire to cut down or control alcohol use, cravings to use alcohol, a great deal of time spent in activities necessary to obtain alcohol, use alcohol or recover from its effect, recurrent alcohol use in situations in which it is physically

The authors of narrative therapy are Michael White and David Epston in the 1970s and 1980s. It was created to separate the person from the problem, and therefore encourage individuals to utilize their own skills to resolve or minimize the problem. Narrative therapy is non-pathologizing; it is an empowering, collaborative type of therapy. Rather than transforming a person, narrative therapy aims to transform the effects of the problem. People are viewed separate from their problems which are transformed into personal stories giving a person meaning and identity into discovering the life’s purpose of the problem (Dulwich Centre - A Gateway to narrative therapy and community work, 2014).

Within the case presentation, there was reflection on the different theories that could be applied in her intervention and how to use different elements of each, such as the miracle question to understand what the client wants out of therapy (DeJong & Kim Berg, 2013). It was on account of cumulative knowledge gained during previous coursework pertaining to cognitive behavioral theory (CBT) as well as the in-depth discussion of the narrative approach within the capstone class that had ultimately led to, while short term, some progress within the client’s care during her time of treatment prior to her move. The process of learning about how to engage the client had resulted in the start of a good therapeutic relationship where the client

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual V (DSM 5) describes the essential feature of a substance use disorder as a cluster of cognitive, behavioral and physiological symptoms indicating that the individual continues using the substance despite significant substance-related problems. Specifically, the DSM V describes diagnostic criteria as a problematic pattern of alcohol use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress. Mr. Holliday manifested the following:

The theory that was chosen to work with this family is narrative Therapy. Narrative therapy is a form of psychotherapy that helps people to identify their values and the skills in their lives. This therapy encourages the clients to face the issues that they face. The therapist helps the clients to co-author a new narrative, and deconstructs those dominant discourses in their life (Gehart, 2014). This learner chose this theory because this theory takes the problem out of the way so that the client can see those skills and the values that they already have.

Narrative therapy is a social constructive philosophical approach to psychotherapy that has been developed to help clients deconstruct their negative and self-defeating life stories while rebuilding healthy and positive life stories through the use of various techniques. This paper will discuss the leading figures, some concepts and techniques, ethics, some similarities and dissimilarities of other theories compared to Narrative therapy. This paper will also address my personal integration of faith regarding the theory of Narrative therapy.

In today's modern society alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse has become one of the most complex, life-threatening issues. Most depressed individuals usually indulge themselves in bars or pubs with their alcohols to escape from their stressful life. It has become increasingly alarming how alcohol does not only attract the adults, but also teenagers these days. "Research has shown that approximately 14 million Americans (7.4%) of the population meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or alcoholism" ("Facts about Alcohol"). Alcohol addicts may encounter social impact such as loss of respect from others who may see the problem as self- inflictive and easily avoided. Repeated use of alcohol over a period of time can result in

This week’s reading transcribes an interview of Michael White, the founder of narrative therapy at the Dulwich Centre, in Adelaide, South Australia. White defines the therapeutic underpinnings and process of narrative therapy in relation to a client and their personal story. Narrative therapy includes a constructionist foundation which, allows a client to interpret personal experiences based on observation and reflection.

Based on influences from Foucault and other scholars, narrative therapy assumes that the stories people tell and the language that they use play a role in their interpersonal and intrapersonal problems (Mattingly, 1998). The stories that cultures tell about such concepts as gender, class and race influence members views on the meaning behind these concepts. Because of external influences, when a client brings up a problem it is not the problem itself that needs to be examined. Instead, the client is being affected by their own framing of the problem. The stories that people tell themselves are shaped by society and can become problematic when a client feels that they no longer have control over their own story (Ross & Shapiro, 2002).