Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-1988

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Social Work

Major Professor

James D. Orten

Committee Members

Thomas Cruthirds, Reginald Avery

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant relationship between the educational backgrounds of therapists and their choice of modalities by which they treat children of alcoholics (C.O.A.s). The current literature is lacking in studies in this area. A large amount of this literature about C.O.A.s is based on the issues of this population or on the treatment modalities recommended for use with them.

Therapists surveyed for this study included psychiatrists, psychologists, and licensed social workers residing in Knox County, Tennessee. Information was gathered from these therapists through the use of a 26 item questionnaire. There was a total of 116 questionnaires returned.

The responses from the therapists surveyed indicate a difference in treatment modalities they espouse for C.O.A.s and the modalities recommended by the literature. The respondents also reported treating many of the same C.O.A. issues as identified in the literature.

Information received about the therapists indicates that most iv. work in private practice and spend up to 50 percent of their professional time in therapy. Half of the respondents report 1-10 percent of their clients are chemically dependent. One-third of those cases did not include children of the clients in the treatment process even though half of the respondents stated that they would include the family in treatment whenever possible. Most of the C.O.A. clients seen in treatment are adults with individual therapy being the most popular treatment modality used for any age group. A large percent of the respondents believe that chemical dependency is a disease while only half of them use the primary disease model as orientation toward treatment.

Of the seven hypotheses formulated about the topic of study, two were found to be significant when tested with chi square tables. The first significant hypothesis states that a therapist's type education is correlated to his inclusion of family therapy in treatment of the chemically dependent adult. The second hypothesis that was supported states that a therapist's belief in chemical dependency as a disease is correlated to his use of the disease model as orientation toward treatment of chemical dependency.

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