Table Of ContentCounselling
older PeoPle with
AlCohol Problems
of related interest
Counselling the Person Beyond the Alcohol Problem
Richard Bryant-Jefferies
ISBN 978 1 84310 002 7
Person-Centred Counselling for People with Dementia
Making Sense of Self
Danuta Lipinska
Foreword by Brian Thorne
ISBN 978 1 84310 978 5
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with Older People
Interventions for Those With and Without Dementia
Ian Andrew James
ISBN 978 1 84905 100 2
Counselling
older PeoPle with
AlCohol Problems
Mike Fox and LesLey WiLson
FoReWoRd by dR MaRtin bLanchaRd
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia
Parts of Chapter 12 have been previously published in the Journal of Dementia Care
(Fox 2008) and are included with kind permission of Hawker Publications.
First published in 2011
by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
116 Pentonville Road
London N1 9JB, UK
and
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
www.jkp.com
Copyright © Mike Fox and Lesley Wilson 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form
(including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether
or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the
written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by
the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N
8TS. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part
of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.
Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result
in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Fox, Mike.
Counselling older people with alcohol problems / Mike Fox and Lesley Wilson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84905-117-0 (alk. paper)
1. Older people--Alcohol use. 2. Alcoholism--Treatment. 3. Older people--Coun-
seling of. I. Wilson, Lesley. II. Title. III. Title: Counseling older people with alcohol
problems.
HV5138.F69 2011
618.97’686106--dc22
2010032216
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 84905 117 0
ISBN pdf eBook 978 0 85700 319 5
Printed and bound in Great Britain
to Pam
with love
for constancy and witnessing
Contents
Acknowledgements 9
Foreword 11
PrefAce 15
Part I A Guide to Understanding the Client Group
and an Outline of the Theoretical Model 17
Chapter 1 what distinguishes This Client group? 19
Chapter 2 where to begin? Alcohol and identity: Am i an ‘Alcoholic’? 23
Chapter 3 reasons for drinking: Alcohol and Paradox 31
Chapter 4 A non-directive Approach: Abstinence or moderation? 43
Part II The Therapeutic Process: A Linear Description 47
Chapter 5 First session/Assessment 49
Chapter 6 working with types and Patterns of drinking 59
Chapter 7 Addressing the Problem: Alcohol and the hierarchy
of needs 75
Chapter 8 detoxification (detox) 93
Chapter 9 After the drinking Ceases/working with relapse 107
Chapter 10 endings 127
Chapter 11 self Care and the Therapist 137
Part III Working with Complex Needs/Dual Diagnosis 149
Chapter 12 dementia and Alcohol 151
Chapter 13 depression and Alcohol 163
Chapter 14 bipolar disorder and Alcohol 179
APPendix: exercises 193
references 199
index 201
ACknowledgements
First we would like to express our warmest thanks to all the people
Mike has seen as clients. The practice and philosophy described in
this book derives in large part from what has been learned from them.
We particularly wish to thank those who have generously allowed
material from their counselling sessions to be used as case studies.
Some chose to remain anonymous and where necessary we have made
alterations to protect their identity and that of their family. Judith
Downie, Alex Edwards, Finbar MacDonnell and Bruce Robertson
allowed us to mention them here, although where reference has been
made to them in the text they appear under pseudonyms or are simply
not named.
We offer especial thanks to Dr Mari Taber, Mike’s former manager
and a pioneer in this field, whose energy, vision and expertise made
a path for others to follow. Mari provided the initial support and
opportunities without which this book would not have been written.
It is impossible to overestimate the value of her contribution in
establishing the feasibility of a successful field of treatment for older
people with alcohol problems.
We would like to thank Geoff Ferguson, Director of CASA,
the agency in which the case studies described here took place, for
valuable discussions on clinical practice, ethics and a wide range of
other issues pertinent to this book. The chapter on assessment draws
heavily from an assessment process devised by staff at CASA and we
gratefully acknowledge Geoff’s generosity in allowing us to use this.
Geoff is a tireless enabler of so many who work in the field of alcohol
misuse.
9
Description:Alcohol misuse is becoming an increasingly significant issue for people aged 55 and over, and providing effective counselling services to this growing client group requires a unique and specialised approach. This practical guide explores the factors that differentiate older drinkers and introduces a
