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A Distressed High School Student Exhibits Quite a Few Alcohol-Related Difficulties, Gets Expelled From School, and Has to See the School Psychologist

14 October 2009 No Comment

Dante was a seventeen year old high school junior who was manifesting quite a few alcohol-related issues at school. Consequently, the principal informed him that he had to see Miss Johnson, the school therapist, before he would be allowed to return to school.

Later that day when Dante went home after school, he had to explain his school situation to his Mother and Father. His parents were “relatively old-style” and told Dante that getting suspended from school was not a possible educational game plan. They explained to Dante that failing to graduate from high school would most probably be like a lead weight around his ankles that could conceivably inhibit his educational achievement for the rest of his adult life. In addition, Dante’s Mother and Father were very dissatisfied that he was drinking in the first place and drinking with his pals in the second.

His Mom and Dad explained to Dante that although he may be a teenager, he needs to comprehend rather quickly that drinking is the road to financial problems, failure, pain, and ill health.

It was plain to see that his parents were out-and-out in full agreement with Dante’s principal and explained to Dante that he had better make up his mind to see Miss Johnson, the school therapist. After his discussion with his parents, Dante at long last agreed to see Miss Johnson the next school day. So Dante called the school and made an appointment to see Miss Johnson the next afternoon.

The Therapist Asks Dante if He Knows Why His Recent Alcohol-Related Activities Caused Quite a Bit of Apprehension By the School Administrators

When Dante went to see Miss Johnson, she instantly reviewed all of the alcohol-related difficulties Dante had experienced and asked him if he comprehended why his recent alcohol-related actions caused quite a bit of concern by the school administrators.

Quite frankly, Dante questioned why the principal informed him that he had to see a school psychologist. As he stated to Miss Johnson, why should he see a professional psychologist about his drinking situation? In view of the fact that nearly all of his peers drink the same amount that he does, for all intents and purposes, drinking shouldn’t be such a big issue. Stated more directly, if just about 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 classmates introduced him to drinking wine when he was twelve or thirteen years old and getting ready to enter the seventh grade.

Miss Johnson explained to Dante that while his pals may indeed drink as much as he does and that they may be a bad influence on him, the facts are that he is the one who is getting suspended from school due to alcohol-related fighting, delinquency, and absenteeism, not his friends. What is more, Miss Johnson also stressed the fact that Dante, and not his peers, is the one who is failing and who is missing almost two days of school every week due to his alcohol related difficulties. Lastly, Miss Johnson underlined the fact that because of his drinking situation, Dante is getting into a negative cycle of excessive drinking that can in time wreck his aspirations, hopes, and dreams.

In short, Dante’s involvement with teenage alcohol abuse was beginning to impede his ability to function as a responsible young man. As verbalized by Miss Johnson, “Just because most of your pals drink beer, wine coolers, hard liquor, or wine does not mean that it is the correct behavior for you.”

Dante Learns That In the End He Must Claim Responsibility For Himself In Order to Keep Away From Unhealthy, Dangerous, Destructive, and Damaging Situations In the Future

Miss Johnson told Dante that other people can definitely influence an individual in a negative manner, but that the individual herself or himself has to in due course be responsible for herself or himself in order to avert destructive, dangerous, damaging, and unhealthy outcomes in the foreseeable future.

Luckily, Miss Johnson was well prepared for her scheduled time with Dante. She showed him research studies and reports she had highlighted that summarized different drinking facts and statistics that targeted most people in general. Then she showed Dante quite a lot of data that applied chiefly to teenagers.

For instance, Miss Johnson highlighted the difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism and explained to Dante that drinkers who continue to drink in an excessive manner regularly become dependent on alcohol.

Miss Johnson also articulated 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 Psychologist Verbalizes Quite a Few Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse Facts and Statistics

Then Miss Johnson verbalized various alcohol facts and the following eight alcohol abuse statistics:

1. The 25.9% of adolescent drinkers in the United States who are alcohol dependent and alcohol abusers drink 47.3% of the alcohol that is consumed by all teenage drinkers.

2. Fifty percent of United States murders are alcohol related.

3. In 2002, U.S. alcohol dependency facts and statistics demonstrated that 2.6 million binge drinkers were between the ages of 12 and 17.

4. It is estimated that more than 3 million adolescents in the United States between the ages of 14 to 17 are alcohol abusers or alcoholic.

5. In the United States, more than forty percent of those who start drinking at the age 14 or younger become alcohol dependent.

6. Relatively few of the more than 18 million U.S. alcohol abusers receive the alcohol treatment they require.

7. Teen drinking costs Americans nearly billion per year. If this cost were shared equally by each congressional district, the amount would total more than 0 million per district.

8. Alcohol-related issues are disproportionately found among both adult and juvenile criminal offenders.

Dante Gets An Important Wake Up Call About the Short Term and the Long Term Consequences of Youth Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Dependency

After Miss Johnson presented the aforementioned alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency statistics and facts, it was clear that what Miss Johnson revealed to Dante was a real shock to him. Why? Because for the first time in his young life, someone not only took the time to go over the short term and the long term effects of alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse, but she also took the time to authenticate what she was saying with alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency facts and statistics that related to everyone in general, and mainly to underage drinkers.

Certainly, it was almost as if a light went on and Dante instantly comprehended why he should not be engaging in hazardous and abusive drinking with or without his friends anymore. Dante thanked Miss Johnson for her concern and for the material she reviewed.

Miss Johnson then asked Dante how he felt about getting a physical examination and an alcohol appraisal for the alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency rehab he would probably need.

Dante thought about this for a minute and then agreed to get a thorough physical and to go through a comprehensive evaluation of his drinking behavior so that he could start an alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency rehab program without pause.

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