Many people recover from alcohol problems - the first step is actually deciding to get help. There are a range of options available and your doctor can help you decide which is likely to best suit your needs.

Find alcohol services in your area.

Brief intervention

For some people, a 'brief intervention' is enough to get them to think about cutting down how much they drink. This could be a chat with a health professional, reading an information leaflet, or discussion with a family member.

Doctor

Your doctor is often the first point of contact for concerns about alcohol. Some health centres have drop in clinics where you can get help and support from a practice nurse or alcohol counsellor, or your doctor may refer you to another local treatment service which can help.

Counselling

Alcohol Focus Scotland has been training people to become alcohol counsellors for over thirty years. Our counsellors are based in local alcohol agencies across Scotland and work not just with people who have alcohol problems, but also those who are affected by someone else's drinking.

The aim of counselling is to try and help the person find a way of dealing with the problem. With the support of a trained counsellor, people will begin to trust their own judgement and be more able to make the right decisions. Counsellors have helped to change the lives of many thousands of people by helping them to reach their goal of reducing their drinking to safer, healthier levels, or to stop drinking completely.

You can make an appointment with a counsellor yourself or your doctor can make a referral for you.

Self-help groups

Self-help groups offer support by using the experiences of fellow problem drinkers. People who wish to give up alcohol completely may find it helpful to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting. The Alcoholics Anonymous national helpline - 0845 76 97 555 - can provide details of local group meetings. Al-Anon Family Groups offer support to people whose life is affected by someone else's drinking, and Alateen is for young people aged 12-17 affected by a problem drinker.

SMART Recovery UK provides self-help peer support groups for people wanting to overcome addictions and addictive behaviours.

Residential rehab

These services offer accommodation with a structured programme of activities to help people overcome serious alcohol problems and dependence. Residential rehab services vary according to their aims and ethos, the client group they are aimed at, and whether they offer short or long stay. These services may be appropriate for people who need an intensive level of support and who have an unsupportive home environment which is contributing to their problems.

Your doctor is best placed to advise if this type of service would benefit you.

Detox

Some people may need to go through detoxification to completely remove alcohol from their system. Detox involves taking a short course of a medicine which helps to prevent withdrawal symptoms when the person stops drinking alcohol. Detox can take place at home, in hospital, or at a specialist treatment facility.

Complex needs

Most local authority social work services provide support for people with addiction problems. This type of support tends to be more appropriate when the person has complex needs, for example, substance misuse problems along with mental health problems.