How to make a dear for you person get treatment?
According to Ukrainian law «Оn rendering psychiatric care» neither a state clinic nor the more so as a private one have no right for forced treatment of patients against alcoholism or drug addiction. The forced treatment is possible only in case, when the degree of severity of drug intoxication has a direct threat to the life of the addict. However, drug addiction is a mental disease, with a pathological form of behavour in the base, i.e. a behaviour aimed to self-destroying. And such a concept as “I want or I do not want to receive treatment” should not be present, in fact. The family must take a decision for a patient. When taking a decision, it is necessary to remember that your family member is sick and is not able to estimate adequately the situation occurred.
The methods of persuasion, conviction, explanation by the close or competent to the patient people can be the first trial in everyday situation. But they themselves must not be alcohol dependent.
One of the condition for success is patience and even mood. Talk quietly, do not shout or blame. Remember that best of all is to talk about your feelings and sensations and use pronoun «I» more frequently than «YOU».
— I care for you
— I am afraid for our family and children
Talk about consequences and alcohol dependence, about the facts of concrete misconducts and bad behavior of your sick person, related to drinking of alcohol for the past days or months. Talk quietly and convincingly, avoid insults in every way. The process of persuasion is aimed to overcoming of protective barriers of the sick person. At some moment he must see his own life as it is actually.
After a warm, heartful talk try to find out, if he wants to refuse from alcohol and stop drinking. Do not ask him to do it, but simply get interested!
Maybe, you will succeed in persuading him to go to the Clinic with the purpose of been examined, not for treatment. Since many patients believe that if it is for treatment, they would be closed in the Clinic, would be injected with something and held there to the end. Examination means diagnostics of the whole body during one hour, taking an electrocardiogram and making other kinds of examination, if necessary, finally – an ordinary examination by a doctor. If your relative still refuses to visit a doctor, do not give way to despair!
In the last resort you can call for a doctor to come to your residence and now the physician-narcologist will try to explain to the patient the necessity to be examined and treated. By his consent he will be hospitalized at once.
It is important to keep in mind that if you take no measures, consequences can be the most unpredictable. Besides, in this situation, while persuading, do not forget about yourself. Try to understand what you do want, get acquinted with the «intervention» method appealing to the narcologist.
