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CONCLUSIONS OF THE COURSE
OF SENSIBILISATION
ON THE SOCIAL ECOLOGICAL
APPROACH
TO ALCOHOL RELATED AND
MIXED PROBLEMS
(Hudolin’s
Method)
Firenze, 1 - 6 September 2003
From 1
to 6 September 2003 the Course of Sensibilisation on the social
ecological approach to alcohol related and mixed problems was held in
Firenze organised by A.N.P.A.S. Solidarietà Internazionale, Scuola
Europea di Alcologia e Psichiatria Europea, Università degli Studi di
Firenze, Associazione Eurocare Italia, Associazione Provinciale Club
degli Alcolisti in Trattamento di Firenze, in cooperation with Italian
Association of the Clubs of Treated Alcoholics – A.I.C.A.T., Regional
Association of the Club of treated Alcoholics – A.R.C.A.T. Toscana,
Centre of Alcohology, University of Florence (Careggi Hospital),
Collaboration Centre for Research and Health Promotion on Alcohol
Related Health Problems – Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome (Italy),
Local Association of the Club of Treated Alcoholics, Florence, with
founding
from
CESVOT
Tuscany, under sponsorship
of
Tuscany
Region.
The
participants thank Dr. Valentino Patussi as Director of the Course, the
group leaders Tiziana Codenotti, Annabella Muckermann and Angela Tilli,
Sandra Tempestini for secretarial work, the teachers Guido Guidoni,
Franco Marcomini, Francesco Piani and Daniele Pieralli. A special thank
to all the families and servant teachers in the Clubs that have been
visited.
The
participants to the Course came from Byelorussia, Greece and Italy, with
total number of 17.
The
presentations, the discussions in the groups, the friendly and warm
relationship among the participants and the visits to the Clubs, have
led to the following conclusions:
1.
The core of Prof. Hudolin’ s methodology is the Club of Treated
Alcoholics.
2.
The Club of Treated Alcoholics is structured in a simple way: between 2
and 12 families gather once a week in a multi-family community within
the local community, based on the family approach.
3.
The Club of Treated Alcoholics must follow these fundamental rules:
a)
Fixed meetings, date, time, place and punctuality;
b)
Smoking is not allowed during the Club meetings;
c)
When the Club reaches 13 families, it must be split up. It is advisable
that this happen at least once a year, to encourage more families to
join the Club.
d)
The discussions within the Club are confidential.
4.
The servant-teacher should provide simple and clear information to the
new families joining the Club, at the Local School on Alcohol Related
Problems. The Local School on Alcohol Related Problems is
structured in three levels:
1st
level: 10 meetings for new families (no more than 10 families). The
teacher must always be the same.
2nd
level: 1 updating meeting every two years with the same teacher for
those families who are already in the CTA programme.
3rd
level: 2 to 4 meetings for the general population.
5.
Training and updating of servant-teachers are organised as follow:
a)
Basic training: a Course of Sensibilisation on alcohol related and mixed
problems;
b)
Updating courses on alcohol related and mixed problems (alcohol and
drugs, alcohol and psychiatry, etc.)
c)
Intermediate Courses of two/three days (relapse, family approach, etc.)
d)
School of Specialisation, the so-called “300-hours School”.
6.
Prof. Hudolin’s methodology includes the possibility to introduce
families with alcohol related problems and mixed problems in the Clubs,
maximum 20% of the total number of families . Mixed problems are the
combination of an alcohol-related problem and the use of psychoactive
substances, psychiatric disorders, homelessness and other particularly
complicated situations.
The conditions for such families to enter the Club are:
Families with mixed problems have to inform the Club about their
own situation and the Club has to decide whether such families are to be
accepted.
The
Club and the servant-teacher must be specifically trained and updated on
mixed problems.
The
servant-teacher must also co-operate with the professionals (for example
psychiatrists) who are actually treating the people with mixed problems.
7.
Families entering the Club must have the opportunity to have the first
interview with the servant-teacher. This first interview can not be
substituted by previous interviews by any other.
8. The
Club works well in the handling of relapse which is not a tragedy but a
common evolution in the history of families with alcohol related
problems. Relapse has an important role in the work of the Club. Usually
relapse is considered in terms of drinking alcohol again. Yet, a more
frequent form of relapse is a withdrawal to the old behaviour and
lifestyle. The alcoholic’s whole family may relapse. Other forms of
relapse may be caused both by the behaviour of the servant teacher as
well as of the whole Club, and by the relapse of the local community
where the Club works. Relapse is an acceptable situation in the Club, it
should not be emphasized, but everything should be done to eliminate it.
Besides, we should not forget that Clubs are there for people who drink
and consequently also for people who relapse.
9. It
is important to stress that this methodology is based on the family and
its spiritual and material bonds. If a member has no family it is
necessary to find a substitute family, which has the same
responsibilities as the other families.
10.
The principles the Club’s methodology are based on and fit very well
into the health promotion principles included in many international
documents, such as the Alma Ata Declaration, the Ottawa Charter, the
Adelaide Conference, the Principles of Health for All in 21st
Century, the Copenhagen Declaration, the Jakarta Declaration, the
European Charter on Alcohol and the latest Stockholm Declaration.
11.
During the Course most participants from foreign countries said they
would start a Club of Treated Alcoholics as soon as they return to their
countries, however within 6 months, and also that they would do their
best to disseminate the Clubs methodology.
12.
All participants will be informed about any International Course of
Sensibilisation organised in Italy. They will do their best to spread
the news about this course in their community in order to encourage
people to attend it.
13.
The organizers will provide all the support that participants will
require, both in terms of information and promotion materials (in
italian and/or english language), and in terms of general collaboration.
14.
ANPAS Association will visit Byelorussia in the early 2004. At that time
a monitoring about the situation of Clubs in that country will be done.
15.
The participants coming from Greece said they will meet together at the
end of September with the other Greek servant-teachers to discuss about
the development of the Club movement in their country and to start the
monthly meeting of servant-teachers.
16.
The conclusions of this Course will be published on “Camminando Insieme”,
AICAT News, “The Globe”, ANPAS News and other international publications
and in web side’s
www.aicat.net,
www.arcattoscana.org.
e
www.anpas-internazionale.org Besides, a short communication
will be sent to scientific reviews, which will report on the initiative.
17.
Each participant has the duty to spread these conclusions in their own
country to health and social authorities and to non-governmental
organisations.
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