At Suncoast Rehabilitation Center, we help people work through both drug and alcohol addiction.  Both types of addiction have a specific recovery process and both are destructive if not treated properly.  Attempts have been made to treat alcoholism in America throughout history, and this is something we wanted to look at this February for American History Month. 

We, as a nation, take alcoholism very seriously and work to treat those who suffer from it every single day.  It wasn’t always like that though. Here’s a look back into how treatment of alcoholism has evolved:

Many believe the first attempt at treatment of alcoholism started with in the 1930’s Alcoholics Anonymous.  This is not actually the case.  Native American tribes in the early 1800’s were some of the first to really address this issue with effective treatment methods called “sobriety circles.”  This is an incorporation of Native American tradition and treatment.

While Native American groups were formed to help the alcoholic return to his spiritual roots and be healed, non-natives were treating alcoholism very differently.  Individuals addicted to alcohol were given exorcisms, confined to institutions for the insane, thrown in jail, or hidden by friends and relatives.

In 1840, a group of alcoholics got together and formed a club called The Washingtonian Society.  They decided to get completely sober and remain that way.  This idea spread throughout the nation, with reportedly tens of thousands joining in with the idea and pledging complete abstinence.  This society was ultimately replaced by another – called The Fraternal Temperance Society – but the message of both groups were similar: one had to get completely clean and sober and stay that way if one were to live a life of happiness and have any self-respect.  While The Washingtonian Society broke down, separate groups and organizations formed after its decline.

This concept of complete abstinence from alcohol with a surrounding support group is one that continues today with groups like Alcoholics Anonymous.

There was nothing that could be considered as “medical treatment” for alcoholism, per se, until the 1860’s, when the first asylum specifically for alcoholics was opened.  These asylums gave families a place to put their alcoholic members – in hopes that they could be cured.  Unfortunately, the treatment provided at such facilities was experimental at best and at worst was downright torturous.  Alcoholics seeking treatment at this time were likely to be partially drowned, given ice baths, whipped, or shocked with electricity.  They might stay in such institutions anywhere from one year or “until they are cured” – meaning possibly for the rest of their life.

While the Washingtonian Society had disbanded by this point, there were still plenty of abstinence societies accepting members.  Complete abstinence probably seemed a better way to go for many who understood the vicious nature of the medical treatment given at such asylums.

In the 1880s Dr. Sigmund Freud and several other physicians agreed that cocaine was a cure-all for – among other ailments – alcoholism.  People and companies around the nation began selling “home cures” that often contained alcohol, cocaine, opium, morphine, and other drugs (needless to say, this didn’t solve any problem).

Later on, the world became even more inhospitable for addicts.  Some states passed laws which allowed sterilization of several “kinds” of people: mentally ill, developmentally disabled, AND alcoholics and drug addicts.  Yes, this meant that such people had to undergo surgery so they couldn’t have children.

Prohibition came along in the 1920’s and early 30’s.  This time period saw federal law which prohibited the sale and manufacture of any alcohol.  It was also illegal to own equipment which made alcohol.  But, strangely, it wasn’t actually illegal to drink alcohol and the law allowed for alcohol use if the alcohol was prescribed by the doctor.  So, a large number of prescriptions were written and passed around.  (This makes us think of the current medical marijuana trend and the problem with pill mills we’ve experienced.)

One of the major driving factors behind Prohibition was a women’s temperance movement.  American women were seeing alcohol and alcoholism break up homes and destroy families, and they were hoping to prevent this by removing alcohol from the country completely.  Unfortunately, this movement didn’t work as an effective treatment of alcoholism. 

While the federal anti-alcohol law was repealed, there are still places in the US where alcohol is completely banned or that sale of alcohol is restricted.  These are called “dry” counties and “partially dry” counties respectively.  There are still 271 completely dry counties in the US.

After Prohibition new ideas were being considered for alcohol addiction treatment.  One idea turned out to be Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), which is still in existence today. AA started the approach which is commonly known as the 12 Step program, in which the individual acknowledges to a peer group that he or she is an alcoholic, is powerless to overcome this problem and puts trust in a ”higher power” and a continuing support group to maintain sobriety.

At the Narconon Suncoast Rehabilitation Center, we use a different treatment approach -- one that has been demonstrated high effectiveness for over 40 years.  Basically we help the addict to withdraw from current use; then to rid his or her body of the build-up of toxic residues from years of drinking. With a healthy body and fresh outlook, we then take the individual through a series of Life Skill courses. In this component the individual typically learns much about the factors which led to alcohol abuse in the first place and gains the knowledge and skills necessary to be able to go out and live a successful life free from alcohol abuse. The Narconon program does not treat the alcoholic as a victim of an incurable disease which he or she will have to struggle against for the rest of his life. Rather, we seek to free the person from the trap into which he fell and then give him the tools with which he can create a successful life of the individuals own choosing.

To find out more about our program or to get help for yourself or someone else, contact us today at (877) 850-7355.

Refs: The Temperance Reform and its Great Reformers by Rev. W.H. Danials A.M., whitebison.org, post-gazette.com, hivdatf.files.wordpress.com, williamwhitepapers.com, POTSdam.edu, History.com