[zlandown]

My brother has admitted to drinking in excess of 15 to 24 beers a day. Also reported to my sisters (55 and 62 years old) that he has not had a real bowel moment, only diarrhea in over 10 years. He becomes verbally abusive to my sisters, threatens them and becomes violent. He does not behave this way with me but I am the only recovering alcoholic in the family. He lives alone in Voluntown CT, 53 years old. Has had numerous head injury's, concussions. Also has, in the past, hallucinated, seen and talked with God, recalls memories that have not happened.
My sisters want an intervention, I'd like him committed to a hospital. Who can I contact for help?
Desperate

[Wondergirl]

Try this for your area -- Alcoholics Anonymous:

Answering Services

[DrBill100]

Treatment-refusing drinkers. That encompasses most problem drinkers and getting them help, that they will accept, is a formidable task.

AA, as Wondergirl has noted, is a resource for some. But how do you get the drinker to go?

An intervention? If so what type of intervention?

Confrontational (Johnson) Intervention, sometimes called ambush intervention. A technique in which members of the person's social network confront him or her about the damage the drinking has caused and the action they will take if treatment is refused.

This type of intervention must be well planned and timed. If you confront an ill-tempered intoxicated individual it is more likely that a fight will ensue than that the drinker will acquiesce.

I have found this type of intervention to be either unproductive or counter-productive. It certainly isn't a process to be undertaken without extensive planning and hopefully skilled guidance.

As an alternative, you might look into the CRAFT* method that relies on non-confrontational methods to encourage loved ones to enter treatment.

The method also can help family members improve the quality of their lives. One goal is to teach you how to encourage your substance user to reduce use and enter treatment. Another goal is to help you enhance your own quality of life. This non-confrontational approach teaches you how to figure out the best times and strategies to make small but powerful changes. And it will show you how to do so in a fashion that reduces relationship conflict.

CRAFT is a scientifically based behavioral intervention, has shown some impressive results and provides much needed direction to people who feel they have no where to turn. It does not require the drinker to admit to a problem nor does it require waiting for a calamity to occur to scare them into treatment.

This method is used by SMART Recovery® for Family and Friends an organization that provides assistance and advice for family members or concerned others to engage treatment-refusing substance abusers into treatment.

A brief description of CRAFT can be found here

SMART Recovery® for Family and Friends website here

And a thorough review of CRAFT by Bill Miller (1999) is available at the NIAAA website here.

If AA, SMART or CRAFT aren't to your liking, there are other readily available resources. Alcohol treatment, in fact the very concept of alcoholism, has changed directions in the last 10-20 years and recognized the need for diverse treatment approaches.

Just ask if you need additional advice. And Good Luck

*Community Reinforcement and Family Training