The treatment of alcoholism according to the times

Founded in 1935 in the United States, Alcoholics Anonymous today has more than 2 million members worldwide. Amnon Suissa, an associate professor at the School of Social Work at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), explains how the model has spread to other forms of addictions help.

The temperance movements of the 19e century appear in response to a moral need. They are in tune with the religious movements of the time, especially in the United States, and they fit into the context of the Great Depression. “Previously, alcohol was seen as a good creature of God in the very history of the United States,” says Amnon Suissa. It was later that it was considered a disease. »

The Alcoholics Anonymous movement was founded by a doctor and a stockbroker, who found themselves helpless in the face of the lack of resources to treat alcoholism. This movement does not offer therapy, but mutual aid to its members.

A medical perspective

The official declaration of alcoholism as a disease took place in 1956, following an alliance between the Alcoholics Anonymous movement, the medical community and that of university research. “We also thought that it was a way of de-stigmatizing suffering people”, specifies our guest. However, the Alcoholics Anonymous movement is not interested in the causes of alcoholism: “They do a very good job insofar as the primary objective is abstinence”, explains Amnon Suissa.

In Quebec, the Quiet Revolution led to the appearance of a different conception of public health, thanks in part to pioneers in addiction such as Ubald Villeneuve, Dr. André Boudreau and Dollard Cormier. “We tried to gradually move from a slightly religious version to a more psychosocial version, while keeping the framework of the discourse that alcoholism was a disease”, maintains Amnon Suissa.

Also during this program, Amnon Suissa explains why Quebec is a spearhead in the fight once morest addiction to alcohol and other compulsions. It analyzes the increase in the number of women dependent on alcohol – which occurred in the 1970s – and specifies what the challenges will be for these aid movements in the future.

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