ABSTRACT
The treatment of alcohol-related problems fails to measure up to the various criteria against which it may reasonably be evaluated, and can be considered as ‘not working’. Treatment is perceived as being ‘done to’ passive recipients and is usually a short-term response. The development of treatment services for people with alcohol problems in Britain is of recent occurrence and owes its origins to a subcommittee of a WHO Expert Committee on Mental Health. The expectation and intent were clear -the provision of an extensive range of treatment agencies would reduce the number of persons experiencing problems relating to their consumption of alcohol. It is contended that the role of treatment in the remission is very much akin to that of treatment in recovery from alcohol problems.
