ABSTRACT
Despite increasing evidence which highlights the ‘significant prevalence’ of clients with alcohol-related problems in the social worker’s caseload (Abel 1983; Leckie et al. 1984; Leckie 1990), the majority of social workers have confined their professional involvement to supporting family members who are most affected by the drinker’s behaviour, and to carrying out their statutory child protection role (Isaacs and Moon 1985). In a survey which involved a cross-section of social workers, it was reported that: ‘responses intended to help the problem drinker counter difficulties with drink usually involved bringing in a third party. Often this would be the GP’ (Isaacs and Moon 1985:38). Other sources of help utilised by the social worker-which involved referring clients to Alcohol Treatment Units or to meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)—often provoked hostility from their clients, many of whom rejected the process of being labelled an ‘alcoholic’ (Shaw et al. 1978).
