Dante was a sixteen year old high school sophomore who was exhibiting quite a few alcohol-related problems at school. As a result, the principal explained to him that he had to see Miss Johnson, the school counselor, before he would be permitted to return to school.
Later that afternoon when Dante went home after school, he had to clarify his school expulsion to his parents. His parents were “fairly old-fashioned” and told Dante that getting removed from school was not a workable educational option. They explained to Dante that failing to graduate from high school would more likely than not be like a lead weight around his ankles that could quite possibly hurt his educational achievement for the rest of his life. Furthermore, Dante’s Mother and Father were extremely dissatisfied that he was drinking in the first place and drinking with his pals in the second.
His parents told Dante that although he may be an adolescent, he has to understand fairly rapidly that drinking is the pathway to ill health, financial problems, pain, and failure.
It was apparent that his Mom and Dad were absolutely in concurrence with Dante’s principal and told Dante that he had better make plans to see Miss Johnson, the school therapist. After his talk with his Mother and Father, Dante eventually agreed to see Miss Johnson the next school day. So Dante phoned the school and made an appointment to see Miss Johnson the next day during his fifth period class.
The Psychologist Asks Dante if He Understands Why His Recent Alcohol-Related Behavior Caused Quite a Bit of Apprehension By the School Administrators
When Dante got to his scheduled appointment with Miss Johnson, she immediately looked at all of the alcohol-related difficulties Dante had gotten into and asked him if he understood why his recent alcohol-related activities caused quite a bit of apprehension by the school administrators.
Quite candidly, Dante questioned why the principal informed him that he had to see a school psychologist. As he stated to Miss Johnson, why should he see a professional counselor about his drinking activities? In view of the fact that almost all of his buddies drink about as much as he does, basically, drinking shouldn’t be such a big deal. Stated more directly, if nearly everybody is drinking, why is this such a major concern?
Miss Johnson asked Dante when he started to drink alcoholic beverages. He said that some of his older classmates introduced him to drinking beer when he was twelve or thirteen years old and getting ready to enter junior high school.
Miss Johnson explained to Dante that while his friends may in fact drink as much as he does and that they may be an unhealthy influence on him, the facts are that he is the one who is getting suspended from school due to alcohol-related fighting, delinquency, and absenteeism, not his buddies. Moreover, Miss Johnson also stressed the fact that Dante, and not his buddies, is the one who is failing and who is missing at least one day of school every week because of his alcohol related issues. Lastly, Miss Johnson stressed the fact that due to his drinking situation, Dante is getting into a dangerous cycle of excessive drinking that can finally wreck his aspirations, hopes, and dreams.
In short, Dante’s involvement with teenage alcohol abuse was beginning to impede his ability to function as a responsible young man. As conveyed by Miss Johnson, “Just because most of your peers drink wine, beer, wine coolers, or hard liquor does not mean that it is the appropriate behavior for you.”
Dante Learns That Eventually He Must Take Responsibility For Himself In Order to Avert Damaging, Unhealthy, Dangerous, and Destructive Consequences In the Future
Miss Johnson told Dante that one’s classmates can indeed influence a person in a negative way, but that the individual himself or herself has to at the end of the day be accountable for himself or herself in order to avert destructive, unhealthy, damaging, and dangerous effects in the future.
Luckily, Miss Johnson was quite organized for her meeting with Dante. She showed him reports and research studies she had underlined that listed various drinking facts and statistics that targeted most people in general. Then she showed Dante quite a lot of figures and reports that applied chiefly to teenagers.
As an illustration, Miss Johnson underscored the difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction and told Dante that people who continue to drink abusively frequently become addicted to alcohol.
Miss Johnson also discussed the concept of binge drinking that she defined as follows: consuming five or more drinks in one sitting for males and drinking four or more drinks in one sitting for females.
The Psychologist Lists A Number Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Dependency Facts and Statistics
Then Miss Johnson articulated various alcohol facts and the following eight alcohol abuse statistics:
1. As demonstrated by the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, there are 105,000 yearly alcohol-related deaths in the United States due to inebriated drivers and related medical conditions, diseases or injuries.
2. Nearly 25% of all U.S. people who are admitted to general hospitals have alcohol-related problems or are undiagnosed individuals who are addicted to alcohol who are being treated for the effects of their irresponsible drinking.
3. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse are the third leading cause of preventable fatalities in the U.S..
4. More than 7 percent of the population that is 18 years old and older — nearly 13.8 million Americans — has problems with drinking, including 8.1 million people who suffer from alcoholism.
5. 500,000 Americans who are addicted to alcohol are between the ages of 9 and 12.
6. As demonstrated by one U.S. survey of 18 to 24 year-old current drinkers who did not graduate from high school, roughly 60% started to drink before the age of 16.
7. Currently, about 14 million Americans, 1 in every 13 adults, are addicted to alcohol or are alcohol abusers.
8. According to the research literature, non-alcoholic members of alcoholic’s families use 10 times as much sick time as families who do not manifest alcohol dependency or alcohol abuse.
Dante Gets A Meaningful Jolt of Reality Regarding the Short Term and the Long Term Effects of Youth Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
After Miss Johnson articulated the aforementioned alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse statistics and facts, it was obvious that what Miss Johnson taught Dante was a real jolt to him. Why? Because for the first time in his young life, someone not only took the time to articulate the short term and the long term consequences of alcoholism and alcohol abuse, but she also took the time to support what she was saying with alcoholism and alcohol abuse facts and statistics that related to people in general, and mainly to adolescents.
In actual fact, it was almost as if a light went on and Dante instantaneously grasped why he should not be engaging in hazardous and excessive drinking with or without his buddies anymore. Dante thanked Miss Johnson for her concern and for the materials she discussed.
Miss Johnson then asked Dante how he felt about getting a physical exam and an alcohol evaluation for the alcohol abuse or alcohol addiction rehab he would probably need.
Dante thought about this for a minute and then agreed to get a comprehensive physical examination and to go through a thorough appraisal of his drinking condition so that he could start an alcohol abuse or alcoholism rehabilitation program in a reasonable time frame.