One of the most common forms of addiction and one of the oldest, too. There are victims of alcoholism all around us but rarely do people recognise the need for getting professional help and treatment to get out of the deadly habit.

When to worry about

If at least two of the following are valid and occur within a 12-month period, then it is time to reach out for help:

• Alcohol is often taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than was intended
• There is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control alcohol use
• A great deal of time is spent in activities necessary to obtain alcohol, use alcohol, or recover from its effects
• Craving, or a strong desire or urge to use alcohol
• Recurrent alcohol use resulting in a failure to fulfil major role obligations at work, school or home
• Continued alcohol use despite having persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems caused or exacerbated by the effects of alcohol
• Important social, occupational or recreational activities are given up or reduced because of alcohol use
• Recurrent alcohol use in situations in which it’s physically hazardous
• Alcohol use is continued despite knowledge of a persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused by alcohol
• Tolerance, as defined by either of the following (a)a need for markedly increased amounts of alcohol to achieve intoxication or desired effect; (b) a markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of alcohol

HOW EFFECTIVE IS TREATMENT WITH US?
We are psychotherapy specialists equipped to help people overcome difficulties they face by using highly effective types of therapies such as cognitive behaviour therapy, hypnotherapy, solution-focused brief therapy and experiential therapy.

Medication is not usually recommended in the treatment of mild to moderate psychological problems. However, in some cases, it may be helpful to consider a combined approach and our psychiatrists would be able to advise you further on this.

Our psychotherapists are highly trained and qualified mental health professionals with competence as either Cognitive Behaviour Therapists, Clinical Hypnotherapists or Clinical and Counselling Psychologists. Our mental health professionals have the necessary skills, competence and experience to help you kick the drinking habit and also strategies to stay sober.