Our clients’ health remains a priority during the COVID-19 pandemic, so our doors remain open throughout lockdown for anyone that needs support. 
Help for Alcoholism
As you read this, there are tens of thousands of individuals throughout the UK currently undergoing treatment for alcoholism. Tens of thousands more are searching for the help they need. If you are part of the latter group, Alcohol Help wants you to know that the help you need is out there.
You should also know that we exist to help you find the alcoholism treatment you need. We have access to the best private rehab clinics in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland. What’s more, we can help you choose from among many different types of programs, including:
- counselling
- outpatient services
- residential programs.
There are enough options available to meet the needs of any alcoholic, regardless of circumstances or finances. Nevertheless, we cannot help until you get in touch with us. So before you do anything else, pick up the phone, or send us an e-mail. Don’t waste another moment getting the help you need.
All Regions of the UK
The primary advantage of using a referral service like Alcohol Help is the reach we offer. We do not confine our list of resources to just your local area; we work with private rehab clinics and charities in every region of the UK. Whether you are in Scotland, the Midlands, Wales, or the South of England, there are programs and services available to you. We even refer to programs in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
You should know that a local program or facility is not always the best choice. Sometimes remaining local allows the alcoholic to be too close to the circumstances and conditions that drove him or her to drink. Sometimes it’s better to be completely separated by distance in order for the greatest chances of success.
To that end, we do not just recommend the closest facility and programs to our clients. We listen to what’s going on, determine what type of facility is the best option, and then work on the various choices in terms of geographic location. Our goal is always to provide a referral to the rehab centre or program that will offer the greatest chance of permanent success. If that means something local, so be it. However, if distance is a better option, we’ll recommend that too.
Time Commitments
Before you get in touch with Alcohol Help, you should know there would be a time commitment involved. Most of the private rehab clinics we work with employ the common 12-step program that has already proved successful. The program can take anywhere between 6 and 12 weeks, depending on the facility and the severity of alcohol addiction.
Six weeks or more at a residential facility may seem like an eternity to the alcoholic, but it is relatively short when compared to the years of suffering the alcoholic and his or her family have already experienced. The time commitment is also well worth it in the end.
So why does it take so long? Consider what a typical 12-step program involves:
- Detox – The first step in any program is detoxification. This first step alone can take up to a week to complete. Detox is the process of ridding the body of alcohol and all its related compounds so that sobriety counselling can begin. Medications are used when appropriate.
- Counselling – After detox is completed, the alcoholic must go through the various types of counselling. This counselling is intended to do several things: deal with emotional and mental dependencies, uncover any core emotional problems related to alcoholism, teach addicts that their behaviour is destructive to family members and friends, and teach addicts successful strategies for combating alcohol temptation in the future.
- Aftercare – Once a residential program is complete, there is one final step: aftercare. Aftercare is a series of support services the individual continues to utilise as a means of preventing relapse. Aftercare can be as short as a few months and as long as a year or more. How much aftercare an alcoholic needs depends on how severe his or her dependency was.
Help for the Family
Now that we’ve covered the basics of finding help for alcoholism, let’s talk about help for the family. Far too often, we fail to realise that the family members of alcoholics are the forgotten victims of addiction. Family members suffer in so many ways, including:
- Emotional Stress – Watching the life of the alcoholic spiral downhill can be an emotionally trying experience. Combine that with the miserable atmosphere the alcoholic creates in the home, and family members can be emotionally traumatised. Family members often need counselling and support in order to deal with their own emotions.
- Financial Stress – Because supporting alcoholism requires financial resources, it is not uncommon for family members to endure some measure of financial stress. Perhaps they spent their life savings looking after the alcoholic who could not care for him or herself. Perhaps the alcoholic has stolen from them in order to maintain their habit. It doesn’t matter why the financial stress exists, it just matters that help is found.
- Physical Abuse – Unfortunately, there are times when family members of alcoholics suffer real, physical abuse. In such cases, family members need all sorts of additional help. Physical abuse is something that should never be ignored.
Alcohol Help is here to assist families with the support services they need as well. We are happy to say that many of the private rehab centres we work with offer family services along with alcohol rehab. We also have access to public services and charities providing help to families of alcoholics.
A Phone Call Away
If you could start the wheels in motion to break alcohol addiction today with just a phone call, would you be willing to make that call? Alcohol Help wants you to know you can. Our professional and caring staff are on call 24 hours a day, every day of the week. We are here to answer your call or e-mail as soon as it comes in.
If you are concerned you might have a drinking problem then there’s no better time to make that phone call than right now. Why wait? For every day you delay, you are risking falling deeper into the clutches of alcoholism. Nothing good can come of that.
By the same token, if you are the family member of an alcoholic your help is just a phone call away as well. Please believe us when we say the Alcohol Help staff are not here to judge you or your family. We are here for one purpose: finding help for you and your alcoholic loved one.
The good news about alcohol rehab in the UK is that it is very successful in its mission. The bad news is that there are far too many alcoholics and their families that do not avail themselves of these great programs. Please do not be part of that group. Please, for the sake of yourself and your family, contact us today. It could be the very best decision you ever made.
