Evening star., 1951-12-05

the problem and of the work that
is being done to solve it.
Public drunkenness must be in
creasing much faster than the
population rate, if we are to ac-
cept the number of arrests for
that offenSe as an index.
The number of arrests has risen
from $4,000 during the last year
of the war to $4,000 in the last
fiscal year-an increase of so per
cent.
In the summer Of 1947, some
citizens of the District interested
in the problem persuaded the
proper committees of Congress to
enact Public Law BAT. Section /,
entitled Purpose" is a cou-
rageous. and probably optimistic,
statement of intent.
1t reads in part:
"The purpose of this act is to
establish a program for the re-
|habilitation of alcoholics. promote
temperance and provide for the
medical. psychiatric, and other
scientific treatment of chronic
alcoholics"
Treatment as Alternative.
It further says that the purpose
of the act is:
ITO substitute for jail sentences
for drunkenness medical and 9TH
er scientific methods of treatment
which will benefit the individual
involved and more fully protect
the public"
For a number of reasons, the
alcoholic clinic authorized by the
act was not set up until February,
1850. so it would be unfair to ex-
pect sue ha baby to make a show
ing of licking problem that has
had so many years of growth. But
the experience of the clinic in
dealing with this primary pur-
pose of the law has been dis
couraging to the clinicians and to
the interested citizens who brought
about passage of the act.
About 400 prisoners have been
referred to the clinic by Munich
pal Court. According to DR.. An
thony zappala. administrator of
the clinic under DR.. Leopold Wex-
berg. head of the Bureau of Men
tai Hygiene in the District Health
Department, those referred to the
clinic by the courts come In once
or twice and then return no more.
BY not showing up. they risk being
hauled back into court and given
"a jail sentence as a substitute for
psychiatry-but that is what they
do.
The clinic occupies an ole
school, building at Twenty-t third
and M streets NV.
The staff at the clinic would
much rather talk about the 1900
patients who came there volun-
tarily. Public Law BAT provides
that "any resident of the Dis
trict Of Columbia who is chronic
alcoholic within the meaning OF
this act may voluntarily submit
himself for treatment In
the clinic
Better Response.
They seem to respond much bet
ter to psychotherapy than those
referred by the court. The term
'psychotherapy." can be defined
simply as a method of reasoning
the patient out of his difficulties
Those people who understand
what a psychologist means by
security" or defense mechanism
or motivation" are much better
patients.
While undergoing psychother-
apy. in which each patient must
have the individual attention of a
psychiatrist or psychologist for
at least an hour a week. these
patients can be brought together
to help one another in groups.
The difficulty psychiatry has in
keeping up with the courts is
suggested by the hour a week (and
that's a minimum) which must
be given each patient. compared
with the efficiency of the court,
which sentences drunks at a rate
OF more than one a minute.
Favorite group therapy at the