Alcohol abuse counseling using motivation enhancement approach: A case report

Pages: 783-786
Preeti Sharma (Counselor, Academy of Well-being, Udaipur and Research Scholar, Pacific University, Udaipur)
Mustafa Nadeem Kirmani (Department of Psychology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh)

Drinking practices and substance use disorders have increased significantly both globally and in India. Alcohol and substance use is a major concern on college campuses. College drinking is often considered socially acceptable behavior on the college social and cultural scene. College culture often views drinking as a rite of passage, encouraging behavior that is destructive to the college sub culture and general population. Alcohol use and abuse are cause of concern because the educational process and quality of campus student life are disrupted. There is growing concern about alcohol/substance abuse in India also. Precursors of drug and alcohol problems have been described as risk factors for alcohol abuse and are associated statistically with an increased probability of drug and alcohol abuse. There are host of risk factors including cultural norms and values, attitude toward drinking and substance use, legal factors, increased stress in the society, family factors, interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts, cognitive factors like expectancies and beliefs related to alcohol use. In the management of alcohol and substance use disorders, psychological interventions play a pivotal role. Interventions like social skills training, effective coping skills, drink refusal skills, cognitive behaviour interventions, family based and marital interventions are often employed in alcohol use. In recent years, motivation enhance therapy and mindfulness based urge surfing therapy have become common in clinical practice. The current paper will briefly discuss the components, process and efficacy of motivation enhancement therapy in the management of alcohol use.