Moderate - The Y.E.S. Way

Drinking Too Much?
Don't Want to Quit Entirely?

(Yes, we know that's not politically correct)

Our 5-Day Outpatient Moderation Program Is Designed For Our Clients From Out Of The Los Angeles, CA area.

No Steps! No Groups! No Wasted Time!

We Are The Only Intensive Moderation Program In The U.S.

We believe that some clients are capable of learning to moderate their alcohol use and that they can best do so with planning, support, and anti-craving medications. This process follows the models used successfully in Europe and in some U. S. and Canadian facilities.

Initially we recommend the use of Naltrexone and we are happy to consult with either your personal physician or refer you to one of the doctors we work with. We have copies of the free U.S. Naltrexone information pamphlets and studies available for you or you may order them directly at www.samhsa.gov.

Outcomes of moderation attempts are, of course, unpredictable. Some clients succeed; others decide it's more trouble than its worth, and the rest decide that abstinence works better for them. We will support whatever decision you arrive at and assist you in achieving your goals.

Fees paid towards one program are fully transferable to any other Y.E.S. program.

Moderation: The Emerging Treatment Option
By Dr. Edward W. Wilson, Clinical Director, Y.E.S.

The idea that moderating alcohol abuse is possible has never been popular in the United States. It doesn't fit well with the typical disease model. There are, however, good reasons to include moderation among the treatment options available to clients.

First, moderation isn't a fantasy. Just as everyone knows someone who needs to stop drinking, we also know someone else who has quit or moderated his or her use. Many binge drinking college students and military personnel undergo spontaneous remissions with graduation and discharge. Others simply adjust their consumption to altered circumstances.

Next, the emerging use of Naltrexone, an FDA approved and SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) recommended anti-craving medication, as an adjunct to treatment has extended the possibilities for client centered and matched treatment planning. Unlike Antabuse - an aversive drug that makes clients physically ill if they consume even trace amounts of alcohol - Naltrexone reduces the craving for alcohol and stops the pleasurable brain responses from alcohol. Importantly, it is compatible with continued alcohol consumption and has been used successfully in moderation programs. With the urges reduced and the effects blocked, drinkers tend to drink less, if at all, and may begin to consider alternative activities.

Finally, moderation options allow clients to explore possibilities, examine their own use, and determine their own outcomes. Those who find alcohol intruding in unwanted ways may be able to curtail their use and avoid dependence or addiction. Dependent drinkers may be diverted from addiction. Full-blown alcoholics may realize the extent of their addiction and proceed to get the help they wouldn't otherwise have accepted.

Those who find themselves losing control of their alcohol use - and usually this loss extends to other aspects of their lives as well - do better when they feel more like they have some control over their treatment. Exploring realistic options, using anti-craving medications, tracking responses, trying alternatives, engaging in shortterm cognitive behavioral therapy, and other strategies all help to keep people in treatment, away from heavy drinking, and more apt to successfully make long term changes.

This only works, of course, if the moderation option is real. Using it as a "bait and switch" tactic does a disservice to clients and programs regardless of intention. Given an open and supportive environment, clients will reach their own conclusions with regard to their needs and make decisions accordingly. It's a time consuming and sometimes frustrating process, but clients who feel tricked into treatment won't benefit from it and won't ever return.

Looking for help? Good programs will work with you and offer a range of outcomes, programs, and alternatives. Success is a matter of motivation, expertise, and adjustment. Look where the most options exist, and where staff will discuss your preferences. It's your life and your problem - make sure it's also your solution, the one that will last.

Can Alcoholics Recover and Drink in Moderation?
By Dr. Edward W. Wilson, Clinical Director, Y.E.S.

For decades the research, both formal studies and informal observations, has shown that some alcoholics could return to moderate orcontrolled drinking, and that many do. However, Alcoholics Anonymous and other powerful recovery programs have defined an alcoholic as a person who can never again drink in moderation. This has placed them in the curious position of maintaining that someone who returns to moderate drinking wasn't an alcoholic no matter how obvious the evidence to the contrary.

While their traditional conceptions and definitions have caused the AA/12 Step organizations to reject the mounting evidence, they haven't been alone. The treatment industry also has a vested interest in keeping definitions and solutions narrowly defined and simple. There is, in their lexicon, only one disease and one cure. Since 95% of providers are wedded to the 12 Step model, and have nothing else to offer, suggestions that other outcomes are possible are very unwelcome. In the United States even those programs describing themselves as alternatives to the AA/12-Step models generally adhere to abstinence-only outcome criteria.

But individuals and providers alike would be better served by the different picture painted by an analysis of data from the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Based on a sample of 43,000 U.S. adults, the study found that more than one-third (35.9 percent) with alcohol dependence (alcoholism) that began more than one year ago were in full recovery a year later (according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism).

The fully recovered individuals include roughly equal proportions of abstainers (18.2 percent) and low-risk drinkers (17.7 percent), while one-quarter (25.0 percent) of individuals with alcohol dependence are still dependent and 27.3 percent are in partial remission (that is, exhibit some symptoms of alcohol dependence or alcohol abuse). About twelve percent (11.8%) are drinkers with no symptoms but whose borderline problematic consumption increases their chances of relapse (for men, more than 14 drinks per week or more than four drinks on any day; for women, more than 7 drinks per week or more than three drinks on any day).

One of the many problems with the disease model of alcoholism is its adherence to the supposed progressive nature of the condition. Again, political correctness to the contrary, just as everyone knows someone with an alcohol problem, we all know someone whose alcohol abuse stopped for no apparent reason. This isn't unusual and occurs with alcoholics more often than any real disease - often enough to be the rule rather than the exception. Alcoholism may occasionally be progressive, but it's far more apt to be regressive.

What's a person suffering from alcohol related problems to do? What are spouses or families or employers to do? Certainly people lose patience waiting for someone to sober up and it would be good to be able to jump start some progress. The real news is that there are many different ways to achieve different solutions and if you are looking for outside help, for yourself or someone else, look for help that offers a variety of possible outcomes.

Just as you don't want to be stuck with a stigmatizing label, don't sign up for a lifelong disease you may not have, onerous treatment that you don't need, or definitions that diminish you and your life. Getting the right assistance will help you sort through current problems more quickly, deal with them more effectively, and correct them more efficiently than you are apt to manage on your own. If you can find it, that's help worth having, but be careful not to sacrifice too much of yourself in the process.

Call us today for a free consultation.
Toll Free at 888-541-6350 or 310-541-6350