By Zane Josie
For decades, alcoholism was treated as a shameful secret — a moral failing, a weakness of will, a modern sin to be punished in silence. But things are changing. Slowly, yes — but profoundly. Today, treatment is no longer just about abstinence, courage or “fixing yourself”. It’s about the brain, trauma, social bonds, and the possibility of healing without self-erasure.
The face of recovery is shifting, because our understanding of alcoholism itself has changed. We’re moving away from treating “alcoholics” as a fixed category, and instead recognising people who, at a certain point in their lives, used alcohol as a crutch, a coping mechanism, a socially sanctioned anaesthetic. The goal is no longer simply to stop drinking — but to understand why it was there in the first place.
Medication, Neuroscience and Assisted Withdrawal: Taking the Body Seriously
For a long time, treatment was centred on strict abstinence, often through closed clinics or 12-step groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. These approaches have helped many — and still do — but they don’t suit everyone.
Today, medicine offers new tools. Medications like naltrexone and acamprosate target brain receptors involved in craving and reward, making alcohol less compelling or reducing the compulsion to drink.
Baclofen, once controversial, is still prescribed in some contexts under careful protocols. It doesn’t “cure” alcoholism, but it can disrupt the addictive loop — in some cases, quite dramatically.
The message is clear: addiction is not a moral failure — it’s a neurobiological state, often rooted in past emotional wounds. Modern treatment begins with respecting that complexity.
Integrative Therapies: Finding What Lies Beneath the Drinking
Quitting alcohol isn’t just about stopping a habit. It’s about repairing the relationship with oneself. And often, about healing emotional injuries that run deeper than the addiction.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) remains effective for identifying triggers, challenging distorted beliefs (“I need it to relax”, “I’m boring without it”), and developing alternative coping strategies.
But other therapies are gaining ground. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is used when alcohol dependency is linked to unresolved trauma. It works where words sometimes don’t reach.
Broader therapeutic models — such as integrative psychotherapy or mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) — aim to reconnect body, emotion and values. They don’t just aim for sobriety. They aim for meaning.
Spirituality, Group Work and Ritual: What Peer Communities Have Always Known
What psychologists are rediscovering, Alcoholics Anonymous knew decades ago: you don’t recover alone. Recovery is relational. It needs connection, trust, and a sense of purpose beyond just “not drinking”.
The strength of AA isn’t just in its rules — it lies in the shared truth-telling, the peer support, and the space it offers for a spiritual (not necessarily religious) dimension.
Newer formats are emerging: secular support groups, online forums, mixed-gender talking circles. Each offers a lifeline to people who need to feel seen, not judged.
Because addiction thrives in isolation. Recovery begins with contact.
Therapeutic Psychedelics: A Marginal Path, but a Promising One
In recent years, research into psychedelic-assisted therapy has gained momentum — especially in the treatment of addictions.
Studies using psilocybin or ketamine, in controlled settings, show significant promise in reducing alcohol use and even triggering long-term recovery. One study published by Johns Hopkins University found that psilocybin effects on alcoholism included a marked reduction in heavy drinking days and increased psychological insight, often sustained over several months. Combined with psychotherapy, these experiences can induce radical shifts in self-perception, sometimes after a single, well-integrated session.
These aren’t shortcuts or miracle cures — but they can be powerful catalysts. They help people reconnect with a part of themselves stronger than the need to escape.
At present, these therapies are only legal in certain countries (Canada, the Netherlands, parts of the US), but they point to a broader shift: recovery not as discipline, but as awakening.
Towards a More Nuanced, More Human Vision
Treatment today is more diverse than ever. There is no single path to recovery. For some, lifelong abstinence is the answer. For others, a return to mindful, moderate drinking may be part of the journey. Some need structure. Others need freedom. Some go through medicine. Others through art, nature or faith.
What matters isn’t the method. It’s the ability to choose, to experiment, to fall short — without being condemned.
Because recovering from alcoholism is no longer about “just quitting drinking”. It’s about standing upright again, free and dignified, inside your own story.
