Published: October 25, 2007 11:57 pm            

Clinician pens self-help guide to moderate drinking

PEABODY, Mass. — Michael Levy is a psychotherapist specializing in substance abuse. He is also director of clinical treatment services at Peabody-based CAB Health & Recovery Services.

His new book, “Take Control of Your Drinking ... And You May Not Need to Quit,” (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007) is a self-help guide to a controversial approach to treating an alcohol problem: cutting back on alcohol rather than abstaining.

For the past few years, Levy has been running support groups helping people moderate their drinking and coaching people through the process in private practice.



Here’s a conversation with Levy on the topic of moderate drinking and why he wrote “Take Control of Your Drinking.”



Q: Why would somebody want to moderate their drinking, rather than quit?



A: I think a lot of people for a whole host of different reasons don’t want to get involved in treatment. Maybe they don’t want to go to AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) or other self-help type meetings. They’re more private people and they’re just a little bit uncomfortable doing it. ...

In that regard, I wanted to write a book that meets people where they’re at and helps them to figure out what they need to do. That’s how I approach therapy when I work with people.





Q: In the book, you devote a lot of space to abstinence techniques for a drinker who tries moderation and fails. Do you expect most alcoholics to fail at moderation?



A: Moderation is going to work with some people. It is not going to work with everybody. ...

People with less severe problems could moderate. ... A younger person, a person whose problems aren’t as severe, people who have good support around a moderate drinking goal, versus if all their friends are into a heavy drinking scene it’s more difficult. The longer you’ve had a drinking problem, the less of a chance you’re going to be able to moderate. If you’ve ever been physiologically dependent upon alcohol and you’ve experienced a withdrawal syndrome after no longer drinking, your chances are less. ...

But the bottom line is that some people are going to want to try it anyway. People do it on their own, so at least do it with some support here. Then if you really can’t do it, OK, then it’s obvious you need to achieve abstinence if you’re going to get your life together.





Q: When moderation does work, what does it look like?



A: When you drink, you set a certain contract. You have some guidelines.

Let’s assume you have, when you drink, somewhere between two and four drinks. That’s the most you ever have.

You don’t gulp these drinks down. Maybe you drink one drink an hour.

You don’t drink every day. Maybe three or four times a week is what you drink. There are certain rules. ...

A moderate drinker is not a social drinker. A social drinker doesn’t have to think about it. It’s not really an issue. They can take it or leave it.

But somebody who’s trying to moderate their drinking, it has been an issue, so you really have to think carefully about situations you’re going to drink in that are safe for you.





Q: Recovery rates from alcoholism are low — only about one to three percent of alcoholics turn their lives around in any given year. How does somebody who’s trying to quit keep from getting discouraged?



A: If people have a drinking problem, bottom line, don’t beat yourself up. Clearly there are biological reasons why some people have alcohol problems and some people don’t. Clearly there is a genetic component to this stuff. ...

If you can’t do it yourself, that’s OK. Go for outside help.

Some people can do a diet by themselves with no help. Other people need help. Some people can get involved in an exercise routine by themselves, other people need structure and support.

Different things for different people. You’ve got to find out the path to recovery which is right for you. ... The biggest thing is keep trying, don’t give up.



Julie Kirkwood writes for The Eagle-Tribune of North Andover, Mass. E-mail her at jkirkwood@eagletribune.com

        

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