Assessing Alcohol Use Disorders

If you are going into any sort ofalcohol or drug treatment program, one of the first things that will happen is an assessment of your drinking problem.

Whether you are voluntarily entering a long-term residential treatment facility, an outpatient program, or you are entering a mandatory drug court program or a醉酒驾驶学校，第一步将是对饮酒的评估。

初始评估是确定您是否有一个必要的第一步alcohol或毒品问题，问题的严重程度和确定aplan for treatment.

评估的目标

In most cases, the goals of the assessment include:

• Aid in the diagnosis ofalcohol use disorder.
• Establish the severity of the problem.
• Guide treatment planning.
• Define a baseline of your status.

评估是一个持续的正在进行的过程在你的治疗过程中to evaluate progress and adjust the treatment plan if needed.

Answering Essential Questions About Treatment

Typically, the assessment is designed to determine:

• If you can go through withdrawalwithout medication.
• Whether you need outpatient or inpatient treatment.
• If inpatient will you also need psychiatric services.
• What mix of therapies is best for your specific situation.
• How has your status changed during treatment?

Depending on the type of program that you are entering, the initial assessment may be comprised only of a questionnaire. If the计划是全面的, however, the initial assessment will include a medical examination and a clinical interview, as well as several tests or questionnaires.

Clinical Interviews

在您治疗早期部分的某个时刻，您会发现自己坐下来与临床医生交谈 - 一个专门训练的专业人士，他们会面对你的情况。

通常，您将在与临床医生交谈之前完成医学考试和至少一个调查问卷 - 他们可能是医疗专业人员，辅导员，案件工作者，社会工作者，试用官或法院其他一些官员。

评估文书将有助于为您指导临床医生对您的正确治疗计划，但最终将是顾问的经验和判断，以确定需要的行动课程。

The Battery of Tests Available

There are literally more than 100 alcohol assessment questionnaires and tests that are available to help the clinician determine your treatment needs.

One of the first tests you might be given would assess the severity of your withdrawal symptoms when you stop drinking. This will tell the counselor whether or not you will need medications to help you deal with withdrawal.

评估完整的问题

To help diagnose the severity of your alcohol abuse disorder, there aredozens of tests available- ranging from short 4- and 5-question tests usually used in busy primary care offices, to questionnaires that are several pages long.

The questions on these tests usually do not ask you directly about how much or how often you consume alcohol because most people who have an alcohol problem deny or minimize their alcohol consumption.

Instead, the tests ask you about problems associated with alcohol consumption, such as, "Have you ever missed work because of your drinking?"

Psychological and Other Problems

Depending on your situation, the clinician may give you other questionnaires that have nothing to do with drinking directly. You may be given a general psychological test to assess your personality, cognition, and neuropsychological characteristics.

The amount that you drink may be just part of the problem. You may also be given tests to determine if you have在其他领域发出的问题如医疗，法律，精神病，毒品虐待，就业和家庭。

试图帮助你

整个过程的目的是试图找到最好的方法，以帮助您处理您所面临的任何问题。辅导员或法院官员不是在那里判断你或批评你，而是为了帮助你。

你可以做的最好的事情，如果你发现自己在这种情况下，就是尽可能诚实地合作和回答辅导员或考试问题，以便那些试图帮助的人可以做出最好的，最明智的决定。