Dante was a fifteen year old high school sophomore who was manifesting several alcohol-related problems at school. Therefore, the principal informed him that he had to see Miss Johnson, the school psychologist, before he would be permitted to come back to school.
Later that day when Dante went home after school, he had to explain his school suspension to his Mom and Dad. His Mother and Father were “relatively conservative” and informed Dante that getting expelled from school was not a possible educational option. They explained to Dante that failing to graduate from high school would most probably be like a lead weight around his feet that could probably harm his educational achievement for the remainder of his life. Not only this, but Dante’s parents were extremely unhappy that he was drinking in the first place and drinking with his buddies in the second.
His parents informed Dante that even though he may be young, he needs to realize fairly promptly that drinking is the map to pain, ill health, financial problems, and failure.
It was clear that his Mother and Father were out and out in full accord with Dante’s principal and told Dante that he needs to see Miss Johnson, the school therapist. After his dialogue with his Mother and Father, Dante finally agreed to see Miss Johnson the next day. So Dante phoned the school and scheduled an appointment to see Miss Johnson the next day during his second period class.
The Counselor Asks Dante if He Knows Why His Recent Alcohol-Related Activities Signaled Such Alarm By the School Administrators
When Dante got to his scheduled appointment with Miss Johnson, she promptly analyzed all of the alcohol-related difficulties Dante had experienced and asked him if he knew why his recent alcohol-related activities caused quite a bit of apprehension by the school administrators.
Quite truthfully, Dante questioned why the principal explained to him that he had to see a school therapist. As he expressed to Miss Johnson, why should he see a professional counselor about his drinking circumstances? Due to the fact that virtually all of his friends drink the same amount that he does, for all intents and purposes, drinking is no big issue. Stated more explicitly, if nearly everyone is drinking, why is this such a major concern?
Miss Johnson asked Dante when he started to drink. He said that some of his older pals introduced him to drinking hard liquor when he was twelve or thirteen years old and getting ready to enter the seventh grade.
Miss Johnson informed Dante that while his buddies may indeed drink more than he does and that they may be an unhealthy influence on him, the facts are that he is the one who is getting expelled from school due to alcohol-related delinquency, absenteeism, and fighting, not his classmates. What is more, Miss Johnson also emphasized the fact that Dante, and not his pals, is the one who is failing and who is missing at least one day of school every week due to his alcohol related problems. Finally, Miss Johnson underlined the fact that because of his drinking circumstances, Dante is getting into a dangerous cycle of hazardous drinking that can in time ruin his aspirations, hopes, and dreams.
In a word, Dante’s involvement with youth alcohol abuse was beginning to foil his ability to conduct himself like an accountable young man. As stated by Miss Johnson, “Just because most of your peers drink wine coolers, beer, wine, or hard liquor does not mean that it is right for you.”
Dante Learns That At the End of the Day He Must Be Accountable For Himself In Order to Steer Clear of Dangerous, Destructive, Unhealthy, and Damaging Situations In the Foreseeable Future
Miss Johnson told Dante that one’s classmates can certainly influence an individual in an unhealthy way, but that the person herself or himself has to in time claim responsibility for himself or herself in order to keep away from unhealthy, dangerous, damaging, and destructive outcomes in the future.
Fortunately, Miss Johnson was very well equipped for her scheduled meeting with Dante. She showed him reports and research studies she had underlined that outlined diverse drinking facts and statistics that targeted most people in general. Then she showed Dante quite a lot of information that applied mainly to adolescents.
For example, Miss Johnson stressed the difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism and informed Dante that individuals who continue to drink excessively more often than not become alcoholic.
Miss Johnson also went over the concept of binge drinking that she defined as follows: consuming four or more drinks in one sitting for females and drinking five or more drinks in one sitting for males.
The Therapist States More Than a Few Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Dependency Facts and Statistics
Then Miss Johnson articulated various alcohol facts and the following eight alcohol abuse statistics:
1. Alcohol is an issue in approximately fifty percent of America’s suicides, accidental deaths, and suicides.
2. Alcohol-related accidents are the leading cause of deaths among teenagers.
3. Each year in the U.S., around 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking. This includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle accidents.
4. Research has demonstrated that U.S. teens who drink alcohol are 50 times more likely to use cocaine than teens who never consume alcoholic beverages.
5. Just about 1,700 college students in the United States are killed annually–around 4.65 a day–as a result of alcohol-related injuries.
6. In 2005, 2.1 million American college students between the ages of 18 and 24 reported that they involve themselves in driving under the influence of alcohol.
7. The World Health Organization projects that around 76 million individuals throughout the world suffer from disorders that are related to alcohol abuse or alcohol addiction.
8. According to recent substance abuse research findings, it has been discovered that approximately 53% of the adults in the United States have stated that one or more of their close family members is an alcohol abuser or is addicted to alcohol.
Dante Receives A Much Needed Jolt of Reality Regarding the Short Term and the Long Term Outcomes of Adolescent Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Dependency
After Miss Johnson stated the aforementioned alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency facts and statistics, it was plain to see that what Miss Johnson taught Dante was a real bombshell to him. Why? Because for the first time in his young life, someone not only made the effort to put in plain words the short term and the long term effects of alcohol abuse and alcoholism, but she also took the time to corroborate what she was saying with alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction facts and statistics that related to everyone in general, and chiefly to teenagers.
Without a doubt, it was almost as if a light went on and Dante at once grasped why he should not be engaging in hazardous and abusive drinking with or without his classmates any longer. Dante thanked Miss Johnson for her concern and for the information she presented.
Miss Johnson then asked Dante how he felt about getting a physical exam and an alcohol appraisal for the alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency rehab he would probably need.
Dante thought about this for few minutes and then agreed to get a complete physical examination and to go through an extensive appraisal of his drinking behavior so that he could start an alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency treatment program immediately.
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