Comprehensive program of psychotherapeutic support of combatants with alcohol addiction

Abstract

Introduction. The combatants develop anxious alertness, the perception of the environment as potentially dangerous, the impulsive response increases, and the personality structure is affected. All this leads to a change in behavior and, most often, to alcoholization of this demographic group. Materials and methods. To achieve this goal, we examined 96 men who were treated in the psychiatry and narcology clinic of the Military Medical Clinical Center of the Northern Region. According to the diagnostic criteria of ICD-10, they suffered from alcohol dependence: 31.9% of respondents – alcohol abstinence, 22.6% – abstinence in conditions precluding use, 29.2% – constant use, 16.3 % – occasional use. The treatment group (patients who took part in rehabilitation program) included 56 people. The control group consisted of 40 people who received standard treatment regulated in the hospital. The style of alcohol abuse with a high degree of reliability correlated with the issues of danger to physical, psychological and mental health. Dangerous alcohol consumption was found in 55.2% of the participants, a high probability of alcohol dependence was found in 44.8% of respondents. Results. The clinical picture of alcohol dependence was characterized by loss of situational control, palimpsests, dysphoria, affective reactions, anxiety and depressive disorders and asthenic manifestations. Against the background of the use of the developed comprehensive program of psychotherapeutic support in 45.1% of the members of the main group and 32.6% of control group patients demonstrated coping strategies aimed at addressing the challenges; 31.4% and 22.4% of the treatment and control groups, respectively, demonstrated coping strategies aimed at emotions; in 15.9% and 32.6% of patients coping strategies were designed to avoid stress; in 6.7% and 12.4% in the above mentioned groups respectively – coping strategies aimed at the distraction. Conclusions. As a result of the implementation of the comprehensive program of psychotherapeutic support for combatants with alcohol addiction, it is expected that the quality of medical care for combatants will improve. Keywords: psychotherapy, comprehensive treatment, combatants, alcoholism.