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COMING NEXT MONTH assures husbands and wives of her the wife confronts her husbandwith patients that they are not responsithe kind understanding to which his former inadequacies,provoking ble for the illness, and cautions alcoholics respond. about with open aggression against against adding to the difficulty. Since most alcoholics are men, her.” If theywill allow themselvesto the emphasis of Al-Anon ison the Growing awareof theimportance become allies of psychiatry, wife’s role in his cure. However, “the of the non-alcoholic’sroleina slip disease,” according to Dr.Fox,“can the Family Groups are open to the ora comeback, some wives of AA be arrested at any stage,not after man whose wife is alcoholic and members organized a “clearing Skid Row or tragedy.” the Al-Anon methods are equally house”in 1951 to seek the help effective for him.What are these Yvelin Gardner of the National they needed before they could help Committee on Alcoholism says, methods and how do they work? 15otherwives and twohusbands of their mates. This clearing house Joan T.,a Stamford,Conn.,housealcoholics.All were well groomed, “Members of the family mustn’t became Al-AnonFamily Groups. wife,who sought out an Al-Anon alert and cheerful.First, Joan relet an alcoholic’s gyrations send Mail coming to the still current Family Group, is typical. ceived pamphlets on alcoholism. them into such a spin they think P.O.Box 1475,Grand Central She considered herself modern Then she heard others tellof their Station,NewYork 17,tells of piti and fairly intelligent.But until reexperiences, storiesallcouldfeel It has been definitely shown that fulmistakes.Somefamily members cently she coped with the“probkinship with. Gradually Joan felt family memberswhohave adopted punished alcoholics by horsewhiplemof her husband,Ted,as famrelief and hope. Finally she understanding attitudes and apping ornotcookingfor them,while ilies did 40years ago. achieved a sense ofpeace as the proaches have brought alcoholics to others coddled them into asylums. meeting closedwiththe prayer: seekhelp and recover many years Information underlined by the acknowledge the fact thatTed,a “God grant me the serenity to acsooner than would have been the National Committee onAlcoholism top engineering consultant,was an cept the things I cannot change, case,and thus have prevented many was sent out.Mateswere told that alcoholic.When she did,her conthe courage to change the things broken homes and death itself” alcoholism is not a sin,but a discern centered on their growing so- Ican,andthewisdom toknow the Just as your alcoholic can’t fight ease,an addiction manifested by difference.” the battle alone,you need the supuncontrollable drinking andnot to while giving lip service to the con- At Al-Anon meetings the tales port of others in the same boat. be subject tohome therapy. that are told are not gripes about Thisfocus onyou came intoview Al-AnonFamily Groups incorpo- As Ted grew worse,heading for after the advent of Alcoholics Anrated thisyear as a separate entity the inevitable straitjacket orhearse, name isPeggy Adams and I am the onymous.Alcoholics strugling tofromAA.There are700world-wide Joanbelittled andscreamed abuse ward sobriety were often being engroups, mostly in the U.S. and brunette facing the group says.She Canada.Any two people can start She avoided seeking the necessary tells of beatings and other indignifamilies.Husbands and wives sat a group meeting ina home,church, outside help.Acting the shrew,she ties,but admits that she has proabout AA anterooms waiting until schoolorotherroom,tohelp each put Ted on the defensive.Partly yoked hostilities. She’d greet her group therapybegan to work for other,and eventually take the alto spite her he refused to struggle husband with name-calling, like their alcoholics. coholic into treatment in AA or against their enemy, alcohol. “bum” or “no good.” While some of them had the psychiatry. Luckily,Joan saw a doctor about Since coming to the group her patience towaitfor the alcoholic The Family Groups give husher “nerves.” She couldn’t sleep, resentments haven’t changed.But toregain emotional balance,others bands and wives a chance for relaugh,or talk coherently any more. her tactics are more subtle andin workedunwittingly against AA by leasing tensions in talks with others Ted’s sexual demands, abuses in keepingwith the facts she’s learned sarcasm and needling,shoving who understand.It is an experifront of the children, and other about alcoholics.“Hon,it‘s okay,” many AAers off the wagon. ence-exchange oasis.Doctors and selfish behavior, characteristic of In Come Back,LittleSheba,ansocial workers have called alcoholthe disease,were making life imme anything you like.It won’t alyzed recently in the “Journal of possible.She was startled when it Psychiatric Social Work,”the sensiwife or husband and children suffer was suggested that although Ted him cold.She then gets him into tiveherowas doing fineinAA until emotional impairment, too. wasn’t ready for help,there was bed and leaves him gracefully alone. So,until you straighten yourself a new organization she could join. Others tell their experiences by not having any life of her own, out,you can’t act with balance and In a neighborhoodAl-AnonFamabout abusive behavior,under- 18 19

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