Because alcoholism is a psychological disease where the patient can hide their pain in the liquor, alcoholics may not be able to fully express their pain linguistically with online therapy. The patient could lie about their drinking, and the therapist will not be able to read the body language that tells the truth. Online therapy is dependent on successful communication. The problem comes when an alcoholic will not be truthful about their drinking to an online therapist and this defeats the purpose of the alcoholic finding help. The goal of this paper is to create an online therapy website. To do this we will have to investigate why an alcoholic drinks, and why they hide their pain in the alcohol. To understand the nature of the alcoholic it is first important to understand the history of alcoholism. We also need to understand the physical effects of alcohol. We will also search two ways in which the alcoholic can get help so they do not need to hide their pain in the liquor. That way they will be able to fully express their pain linguistically to an online therapist. We will discuss three articles that mention the kinds of advances in technology, the higher power, and drugs that can help the alcoholic fully express their pain linguistically with online therapy. Than we will interview three people, one is an online therapist, on works for AA and has been to an online therapist, the last just works for AA. Finally, we will create our online therapy website.

Alcoholics handle their problems by drinking. Their problem can be too much stress, being fired, or the death of a family member. These are not there only problems, an alcoholic can start drinking because they feel their lives have no meaning, or because they are so dependant on the alcohol they feel they need it to go throw their every day lives. The greater the problem, the higher the drinking. They might drink because they are just bored. Its been proven that small to medium amounts of alcohol can moderate the effects of stress. David Benda says " while heavy drinking increases a person¹s risk for various diseases, moderate drinking has positive health consequences- including a reduced risk of coronary heart disease"(Benda,17). Because drinking lots of alcohol is a bad habit, alcoholics abuse it when they have nothing to do. One important reason why an alcoholic drinks to solve their problems is because they lack the courage to face their problems. This reminds me of the story of Popeye whenever he was in trouble he would eat his spinach. He did this because he could not face his problems. The alcohol provides a relief from anxiety; it¹s a depressant that helps to calm them down. There are also several reasons why non-alcoholics drink. They might drink for religious purposes.

For example, in the Jewish culture they welcome the Sabbath by blessing, then drinking wine. Most non-alcoholics drink because of a special occasion or for health reasons. It¹s been proven that it only takes a few weeks of drinking to increase the level of the "good" cholesterol in the blood. "A large number of scientifically valid studies conducted at prestigious medical centers have demonstrated that small to medium amounts of alcohol can have a protective effect on the heart, by guarding against coronary heart disease, the number one killer disease in the United States"(Barry Fox 48). These people are not alcoholics because they are not abusing alcohol. Abusing alcohol I mean they control the amount of alcohol they consume. They art not drinking to get drunk but to better themselves. It should be understood that not every drinker that drinks alcohol to unwind is an alcoholic. I use alcohol to unwind sometimes when I feel stress, but I know I am not an alcoholic. It¹s over time that you become dependent on alcohol. It becomes an acceptable part of your daily behavior. Once this takes place, alcohol helps "deny" that what is happening, "is" happening. The alcoholic now drinks for the effect, not for the different taste of alcohol, or the socialization. Alcoholics suffer from a psychological dependency to keep drinking. They also suffer from a physical dependency to keep drinking. If they suddenly stop, they will start to feel physical pain because the body is going through withdrawal. To understand the nature of the alcoholic, it is first important to understand the history of the alcoholism, what alcoholism is, and alcohol¹s effect on the body. It¹s important to know what kinds of help are out there, and what line therapy means for the alcoholic.

No one knows who invented alcohol, but we owe our enjoyment of alcohol beverages to yeast. Yeast is a single celled fungi that can cause skin diseases and can make bread rise. Perhaps the first alcoholic drink sampled by early man was a tiny pool of fluid that had seeped from a piece of rotting fruit that had been set upon by yeast. At various unrecorded times, civilizations all over the world learned how to carefully "rot" or ferment certain foods in order to produce alcohol. They didn¹t know exactly what was happening, what caused fermentation or how it worked, but they gradually learned to control the process. Over time they recognized the health benefits of wine, but cautioned against excess use. " Hippocrates the father of Greek medicine used wine to treat fever, to help the body dispose of excess fluid, to dull pain, and to improve general health. But he insisted that drinking too much wine could turn one into an idiot"( Fox, 12). Alcoholism has many definitions, the most popular states it is a psychological disease of self and emotional feeling that touches every part of the alcoholics life. It is a destructive disease that kills the body. The alcoholic is dependent on the alcohol for relief from psychological and physical pain. The alcohol (C 2 H 5 OH) kills pain because it is a depressant that is colorless, flammable, and obtained by fermentation of sugars and starches. I often ask myself how can someone drink a liquid that is flammable. Sooner or later, the alcohol one drinks will find its way in to the blood stream, brain, and the rest of the body. It acts as a local anesthetic, and a sedative with myriad effects on the body. It can make a person: 1. Weightless by interfering with the brains ability to use oxygen for fuel. 2. Produce sensations of dizziness. 3. Increase sweating 4. Produce mood changes 5. Increase the heart rate

There is a way to find out how much alcohol one can safely drink without running the risk of potentially serious side effects. This can be found out by using a blood alcohol chart, or BAC. This chart is used to estimate how much alcohol there is in a given amount of blood. It also shows the relationship between alcohol and body weight. "The more you weigh the harder it is to get drunk"(Fox,31). At a BAC of 0.02-0.08g/dl or grams per deciliter, the typical person may: 1. experience mood changes 2. suffer from impaired coordination 3. act differently and inappropriately At a BAC of 0.100-0.199 g/dl there may be: 1. lack of coordination 2. inability to correctly interpret what is happening 3. poor judgment At a BAC of 0.200-2.99 the drinker may suffer from: 1. nausea 2. vomiting When a person BAC reaches 0.300-0.399 there are seriously intoxicated. People who can drink enough to push their BACs to 0.300 or more are considered alcoholics. * There is a BAC chart in the back use it to see your BAC will be after a few drinks. The best way to cure alcoholism is with therapy. There is the group approach, which is about what effect the group has on the alcoholic. The one to one approach, talks about the alcoholic and the therapist online. People go to groups like AA because they want to be around their peers. Alcoholics Anonymous is a group where alcoholics can find help. Since, their peers are in the same situation that they are in, there is no one at an AA meeting to make you feel small. In group therapy the goal is to make you admit that you have a problem and for you to be open about it with the group. If an alcoholic is not being truthful with the group members, that is their loss. It is not the job of the group members to detect if a person is lying.

Dennis says "If a person wants to change, they must first realize that they¹re an alcoholic, incurable from a medical standpoint, and that they must never again drink anything with alcohol"(see appendix). When the alcoholics start being truthful with themselves, they can begin to take steps to change their lifestyles. Today in the age of the Internet, the one to one approach to therapy can be online. This would take place in cyber space not meat space, because meat space would be too expensive. More people have access to cyber space then to meat space and know it is a part of our daily lives. There are many benefits to online therapy, first there is the convenient issue, a person can go to an online therapist in their pajamas. This is convenient because when the person does not need to leave home to go to a therapist they are at home in a environment where they feel comfortable and they do not need to worry about their surroundings. It reduces the shame; people do not have to see you. If you are handicapped you do not need to travel. The problem with online therapy is that the alcoholic may not be able to fully express their pain linguistically through online therapy. This is because alcoholism is a psychological disease where the patient can hide their pain in the liquor. The alcoholic is saying one thing to the online therapist, and his body is saying another. Online therapy limits the therapist ability to help the alcoholic because he cannot see the alcoholic. The therapist can ask, "how are you doing with your drinking habits?"and the alcoholic can say "great", even when all is not well. Online therapy does offer a lot of hope for alcoholics.

This paper contends that alcoholics should not go to an online therapist only. They should also go to AA meetings where they can socialize with other alcoholics. They can find support in a church, and the members can help him fight alcohol. They can share about their experiences with alcohol. The great thing about AA is that they will encourage you to share, you can¹t sit in the back and not say anything. It will be harder for the alcoholic to lie about their drinking, because they will be surrounded by people who have been there and done that. Because alcoholism is a psychological disease where the patient can hide their pain in the liquor not fully express themselves linguistically. Scott Sleek says, "the Internet offers psychology new opportunities and new responsibilities"(sleek,article). To deal with the basic communication problems, which make it hard for alcoholics to receive adequate therapy.

New technology is trying to solve these communication problems. For example, Videoconferencing technology is soon expected to enable people to see and talk with their therapists from their home computer. Just talking on the telephone will make the patient feel connected. Some psychologists worry that people will be tempted to forgo some necessary therapy under the impression that they can get psychologists help in the comfort anonymity of cyberspace. I agree with Jerry Stolfe who said, "if the patient is sick then it¹s a level care issue"(see appendix). They should see a face to face therapist because of their condition. With these new technologies come new responsibility. Therapist who does any type of work with the media should first educate themselves regarding the concerns and practices of media psychology. Online services are the latest innovation in the electronic communication revolution, which is drastically altering the way people interact with one another. In the last several months, therapist and other mental health professionals have launched a variety of Internet services that provide wisdom and guidance to troubled souls. Therapists involved in these cyberspace services caution they¹re not conducting therapy, but rather offering guidance for people who seek help resolving crises or simple answers to everyday questions of living.

It is very important that the therapist make it clear to the public the service that they¹re offering, then they will better be able to pioneer the uncharted challenges of the Internet in a more responsible and professional manner. My second article is about religion and alcohol addiction. William Miller said, "drug dependency drops with a spiritual spark"(Miller, article). Research has found that an active spiritual or religious involvement reduces the risk of alcohol abuse. Dr. Miller at the university of New Mexico said, " religiously involved individuals are consistently less likely to use alcohol and other drugs and when they do are less likely to engage in heavy use and suffer its adverse consequences"(Miller, article). Further studies indicate that alcohol abuse is associated with a lack of meaning in life. A person gets real support from spirituality because it helps them get to know a greater being. That has no limit, and that can help them beat alcoholism. Alcoholic¹s Anonymous talks about God, but it does not stress any religion. It does stress a higher power that is more powerful than the alcoholic. This is what I like about this program, because they are neutral in this matter. The reason that people abuse alcohol, like Dr. Miller said is "because they can¹t find meaning in their lives"(Miller, article).. Religion fills that void, it tells them their God can help them beat this. It is not only religion that can fill this void, they could play a sport which would show them how strong they can be. I agree with this because, the alcoholics are using spirituality for strength. They are using it to help them get through a tough time. Without it their alcoholism would defeat them, because it is a psychological disease that over powers over them. I guess the reason why religion is helping them is because most religions prohibit the excess use of alcohol. I think it would be very helpful and therapeutic if a therapist offers some sort of religious advice for online therapy. My third article is about counselors questioning drug therapy. Addiction counselors believe cognitive behavioral approaches are essential for treatment, but do not support use of pharmacological agents. They support approaches based on cognitive use, coping and relapse prevention; they also believe in providing information on community resources, in seeking feedback, and in providing treatment of mental health problems.

The researchers noted suggest a need for more education. I agree with these counselors because to treat a patient by giving him drugs is not treating him. He is not treated bacause what happens when the pill no longer works he is not treated because the problems can come again. They should first educate the person on their problem, than let them try to help themselves. To further investigate how to cure alcoholics from their psychological disease and to exam the help available to them I did a community research, I interviewed an online therapist, and an alcoholic that has been to an online therapist. I also interview an alcoholic from AA. Gary Stofle is an online therapist. He is a member of Graystone Counseling Services, they provide services to those who are affected by problems with alcohol, including people who have been arrested for driving while intoxicated. Services are also provided to family members affected by another¹s alcohol or drug abuse. These services take place on America online.

Dennis is a member of AA, twelve years ago he was an alcoholic. He had his own business, but lost it to lack of self-control and alcohol. Everyday he goes to AA meeting and talks to people that want to stay away from alcohol. He is not paid for what he does, nor is he a professional, but he is recovering. He has been to these online sites, and he was able to share his experience with me by answering my questions: Steve is also a member of AA . His parents where alcoholics but he never thought he would be one. He became addicted to alcohol in his junior year in college; he would always party and drink with friends. When Steve was thirty he decided to change his life. He made this transformation because he got into an accident because of drunk driving. He was badly hurt, he made a promise to himself that if lived through this accident he would stop drinking. Joined AA in 1989, and has been sober since. (For exact interview go to Appendix C)

From Gary¹s perspective, he thinks the biggest problem with online therapy is that since you are not there face to face with the person you cannot help them if they are putting themselves in danger. For example, he says " if the person is committing suicide you cannot help them". Trying to talk them out of it or calling the police my not be effective and quick enough. He makes it clear that online therapy is not for everyone, it depends on the degree of the problem, and which treatment is best. From Dennis perspective he likes both the online and face to face therapy. For convenience, purposes he prefers to see an online therapist. He claims the biggest difference between the two is that you can see the facial expressions of people, which can tell you if they want help, or are still continuing to drink. Facial expression is not the only aspect of communication, the alcoholic¹s language, posture, and attitude can convey how they are doing with alcohol. From Steve¹s perspective, the most important effect AA can have on the alcoholic is to make them understand that they have a problem. He points out AA does not cure people, it helps people to cure themselves. He stresses that the alcoholic should not have a problem verbally expressing their pain, because we all are in the same boat. I asked him about the economic make up of the members in AA. He said AA does not keep such. "

Alcoholism can effect any one, and don¹t forget only a person with your same problem can help you. It does not matter his economic status"(Dennis appendix). Because alcoholism is a psychological disease where the patient can hide their pain in the liquor not fully express themselves linguistically. Scott Sleek says, "the Internet offers psychology new opportunities and new responsibilities"(sleek,article). To deal with the basic communication problems, which make it hard for alcoholics to receive adequate therapy. New technology is trying to solve these communication problems. For example, Videoconferencing technology is soon expected to enable people to see and talk with their therapists from their home computer. Just talking on the telephone will make the patient feel connected. Some psychologists worry that people will be tempted to forgo some necessary therapy under the impression that they can get psychologists help in the comfort anonymity of cyberspace. I agree with Jerry Stolfe who said, "if the patient is sick then it¹s a level care issue"(see appendix). They should see a face to face therapist because of their condition. With these new technologies come new responsibility. Therapist who does any type of work with the media should first educate themselves regarding the concerns and practices of media psychology. Online services are the latest innovation in the electronic communication revolution, which is drastically altering the way people interact with one another.

In the last several months, therapist and other mental health professionals have launched a variety of Internet services that provide wisdom and guidance to troubled souls. Therapist involved in these cyberspace services caution they¹re not conducting therapy, but rather offering guidance for people who seek help resolving crises or simple answers to everyday questions of living. It is very important that the therapist make it clear to the public the service that they¹re offering, then they will better be able to pioneer the uncharted challenges of the Internet in a more responsible and professional manner. My second article is about religion and alcohol addiction. William Miller said, "drug dependency drops with a spiritual spark"(Miller, article). Research has found that an active spiritual or religious involvement reduces the risk of alcohol abuse. Dr. Miller at the university of New Mexico said, " religiously involved individuals are consistently less likely to use alcohol and other drugs and when they do are less likely to engage in heavy use and suffer its adverse consequences"(Miller, article). Further studies indicate that alcohol abuse is associated with a lack of meaning in life. A person gets real support from spirituality because it helps them get to know a greater being. That has no limit, and that can help them beat alcoholism.

Alcoholic¹s Anonymous talks about God, but it does not stress any religion. It does stress a higher power that is more powerful than the alcoholic. This is what I like about this program, because they are neutral in this matter. The reason that people abuse alcohol, like Dr. Miller said is "because they can¹t find meaning in their lives"(Miller, article).. Religion fills that void, it tells them their God can help them beat this. It is not only religion that can fill this void, they could play a sport which would show them how strong they can be. I agree with this because, the alcoholics are using spirituality for strength. They are using it to help them get through a tough time. Without it their alcoholism would defeat them, because it is a psychological disease that over powers over them. I guess the reason why religion is helping them is because most religions prohibit the excess use of alcohol. I think it would be very helpful and therapeutic if a therapist offers some sort of religious advice for online therapy. My third article is about counselors questioning drug therapy. Addiction counselors believe cognitive behavioral approaches are essential for treatment, but do not support use of pharmacological agents. They support approaches based on cognitive use, coping and relapse prevention; they also believe in providing information on community resources, in seeking feedback, and in providing treatment of mental health problems. The researchers noted suggest a need for more education. I agree with these counselors because to treat a patient by giving him drugs is not treating him. He is not treated because what happens when the pill no longer works he is not treated because the problems can come again. They should first educate the person on their problem, than let them try to help themselves.

Because alcoholism is a psychological disease where the patient can hide their pain in the liquor not fully express themselves linguistically. Scott Sleek says, "the Internet offers psychology new opportunities and new responsibilities"(sleek,article). To deal with the basic communication problems, which make it hard for alcoholics to receive adequate therapy. New technology is trying to solve these communication problems. For example, Videoconferencing technology is soon expected to enable people to see and talk with their therapists from their home computer. Just talking on the telephone will make the patient feel connected. Some psychologists worry that people will be tempted to forgo some necessary therapy under the impression that they can get psychologists help in the comfort anonymity of cyberspace. I agree with Jerry Stolfe who said, "if the patient is sick then it¹s a level care issue"(see appendix). They should see a face to face therapist because of their condition. With these new technologies come new responsibility. Therapist who does any type of work with the media should first educate themselves regarding the concerns and practices of media psychology. Online services are the latest innovation in the electronic communication revolution, which is drastically altering the way people interact with one another. In the last several months, therapist and other mental health professionals have launched a variety of Internet services that provide wisdom and guidance to troubled souls.

Therapists involved in these cyberspace services caution they¹re not conducting therapy, but rather offering guidance for people who seek help resolving crises or simple answers to everyday questions of living. It is very important that the therapist make it clear to the public the service that they¹re offering, then they will better be able to pioneer the uncharted challenges of the Internet in a more responsible and professional manner. My second article is about religion and alcohol addiction. William Miller said, "drug dependency drops with a spiritual spark"(Miller, article). Research has found that an active spiritual or religious involvement reduces the risk of alcohol abuse. Dr. Miller at the university of New Mexico said, " religiously involved individuals are consistently less likely to use alcohol and other drugs and when they do are less likely to engage in heavy use and suffer its adverse consequences"(Miller, article). Further studies indicate that alcohol abuse is associated with a lack of meaning in life. A person gets real support from spirituality because it helps them get to know a greater being. That has no limit, and that can help them beat alcoholism.

Alcoholic¹s Anonymous talks about God, but it does not stress any religion. It does stress a higher power that is more powerful than the alcoholic. This is what I like about this program, because they are neutral in this matter. The reason that people abuse alcohol, like Dr. Miller said is "because they can¹t find meaning in their lives"(Miller, article).. Religion fills that void, it tells them their God can help them beat this. It is not only religion that can fill this void, they could play a sport which would show them how strong they can be. I agree with this because, the alcoholics are using spirituality for strength. They are using it to help them get through a tough time. Without it their alcoholism would defeat them, because it is a psychological disease that over powers over them. I guess the reason why spiritualism is helping them is because most religions prohibit the excess use of alcohol. I think it would be very helpful and therapeutic if a therapist offers some sort of religious advice for online therapy.

My third article is about counselors questioning drug therapy. Addiction counselors believe cognitive behavioral approaches are essential for treatment, but do not support use of pharmacological agents. They support approaches based on cognitive use, coping and relapse prevention; they also believe in providing information on community resources, in seeking feedback, and in providing treatment of mental health problems. The researchers noted suggest a need for more education. I agree with these counselors because to treat a patient by giving him drugs is not treating him. He is not treated because what happens when the pill no longer works he is not treated because the problems can come again. They should first educate the person on their problem, than let them try to help themselves.

My reason for doing this paper is because, I want to create my own online therapy web site. I will try to solve the basic communication problems like, lack of nonverbal cues, starkness and potential coldness of text based interaction, and the potential for misunderstanding. Each day businesses are emerging on the net to claim their share of the market. The competition is strong and some small business may not be able to achieve success on the net. To ensure my survival on the net my web site must be original, distinctive, informative and easy to navigate. It must cater only to the alcoholic community. Now we will need to design our web site. Color is an important element we must consider. To incite a friendly and warm environment it should be sky blue. The text should be in orange. Graphics are also very important, graphic they can attract people to the site. Our site will have Doves floating around with angels. Now that we have our agency and site and decided who we will market to, we will need to develop a web presence. How are we going to let the alcoholic community know about us. We will do this by exchanging links with our competitors. We both can profit from this because our niche is just alcoholics; our competitors are in two or more markets. We can create a listing in an industry specific database, ours is alcoholism. My web site will be called "comprehensive therapy for alcoholic¹s online.com."

This site will be especially for alcoholics and people affected by alcoholics. It will have videoconferencing, where the patient and me can have face to face interactions. There will be a mixture of chat rooms and virtual reality on the screen, plus audio. These devices will the alcoholic linguistically express their pain with online therapy. Each time someone writes something in the chat room the audio will repeat it. With a comprehensive web site a user can help himself to information about the site, and contact me any time. They get to see my schedule and plan when it¹s the best time to see me. They can request information by completing a form, or by telephone. My patients can leave messages for me on my e-mail. I will respond within 12 hours. My site will also take peoples questions on alcoholism. It will answer them in question answer for. Just like ask a question . com. To build my web site I also had to visit other online therapy web sites. They do not answer the basic communication problems of online therapy like my web site does.

Graystone Counseling Services is an online therapy site that provides services to alcoholic and family members of people who have been affected by another¹s alcohol abuse. This is all done in chat rooms on AOL and over the Internet. Fees for online services are $ 45 per inquiry. The limitations of this site are that there is no face to face interaction. The site does not get your attention. You can speak to Gary Stofle for more info about site. Peter J. Chechele is a therapist located in San Francisco. His web site is cybertherapy.com. He deals with alcoholic. He interacts with his patients by e-mail, chat room, and video conferencing. He charges $20.00 per e-mail reply. You will normally receive a reply within 48 hours. There is still the potential for misunderstanding because video conferencing is no substitute for face to face. I took both of these web sites and merged them to form, comprehensive therapy for alcoholic¹s online.com. Now there is face to face interaction because of videoconferencing. The patient can hear me because of the audio. It answers the three basic communications problems. .

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Appendix A Interview with Gary Stofle 1. Que. Gary what are the problems with online therapy? Ans. You can¹t see the person¹s face. If they¹re suicidal you can¹t call 911. There¹s a lot you can miss online, because all you have is the text. 2. Que. Is online therapy helpful for alcoholic? Ans. For some people it is very helpful. It is a level of care issue. Some people are better cured in a hospital, others online. Say you cut your finger, so you put a Band-Aid on it. If you cut it of you go to the hospital. 3. Que. Are more people that are alcoholics increasing the us of online therapy? Ans. Yes more people are using online therapy. Several companies are making deals with social workers, where they provide space for the social worker to conduct their sessions. There employees can use these services at a discount, a good example is hear 2 listen.com. 4. Que. What does online therapy provide for alcoholics that face to face does not? Ans. The conveyance, you can go to therapy in your pajamas. It reduces the shame, people do not have to see you. If you are handicap, you do not need to go far. 5. Que. Are most alcoholics that visit your site cured of their alcoholism? Ans. We don¹t cure people, we just help them to help themselves. Everyone¹s level of alcoholism is different, some get ride of the problem some don¹t. For further information please email stofle@aol.com; or leave a voice mail message at (614) 890-5267. Gary Stofle has moved from the New York area and has relocated to central Ohio

Appendix B Interview with David 1. Que. Dennis I understand you work for AA, and you have been to these online sites. Who do you feel most comfortable with, the online therapist or a face to face therapist? Ans. I had face to face first than online therapy. I can say the two supplement each other. If I don¹t feel like going to an AA meeting, I can go online. He feels very comfortable with both. 2. Que. What¹s the difference between the two? Ans. For face to face when you first come in people can see that you are new, people in AA want to get to know you. They don¹t want you to sit in he back and never share. Online people sometimes sit back and never share, because you can¹t see them. You can see when people are hiding with their facial expressions. A person might say I don¹t feel like drinking, but their face say¹s something else. Their face is saying, this place is a waste of time. I could be at a nightclub drinking. Over time you are able to read these facial expressions, because you¹ve been there. You do not have this online, all you have is the words. Online you do not know if a person is deaf, or has a certain handicap. 3. Que. What are your problems with alcoholism? Ans. I was an alcoholic for twelve years, use to party a lot. A couple of times drove while drunk. Met a friend that told him to try AA, and did now his life has changed for the better. 4. Que. Why have you chosen to go to an online therapist? Ans. He wanted to go to an online therapist because he wanted to try something new. He said an online therapist is no substitute for a face to face therapist.

Appendix C Interview with Steve 1. Que. What effect does AA have on the alcoholic? Ans. It depends whether the alcoholic wants to change. If they want to stop drinking it will be a good effect, if not than a bad effect. 2. Que. Are the alcoholics truthful about their alcoholism? Ans. I do not know. It¹s each person¹s responsibility to be truthful. We try to provide an environment where they can feel comfortable and open. 3. Que. What is the economic make up of the group in AA. Ans. AA does not keep such records, because we do not ask our members for money. 4. Que. Is the alcoholic able to express their pain in the AA meetings? Ans. Yes, the group encourages every one to share and open up.