Moderation Management - Methodology

Methodology

MM allows members to set their own drinking goals as they feel appropriate. MM encourages members to follow particular drinking guidelines, limits, goal setting techniques, and a nine-step cognitive-behavioral change program.

A Moderate Drinker

  • Considers an occasional drink to be a small, though enjoyable, part of life.
  • Has hobbies, interests, and other ways to relax and enjoy life that do not include alcohol.
  • Usually has friends who are moderate drinkers or nondrinkers.
  • Generally has something to eat before, during, or soon after drinking.
  • Usually does not drink for longer than an hour or two on any particular occasion.
  • Usually does not drink faster than one drink per half-hour.
  • Usually does not exceed the .055% BAC moderate drinking limit.
  • Feels comfortable with his or her use of alcohol (never drinks secretly and does not spend a lot of time thinking about drinking or planning to drink).

The MM Limits

  • Strictly obey local laws regarding drinking and driving.
  • Do not drink in situations that would endanger yourself or others.
  • Do not drink every day. MM suggests that you abstain from drinking alcohol at least 3 or 4 days per week.
  • Women, who drink more than 3 drinks on any day, and more than 9 drinks per week, may be drinking at harmful levels.
  • Men, who drink more than 4 drinks on any day, and more than 14 drinks per week, may be drinking at harmful levels.

Nine Steps Toward Moderation and Positive Lifestyle Changes

  1. Attend meetings or on-line groups and learn about the program of Moderation Management.
  2. Abstain from alcoholic beverages for 30 days and complete steps three through six during this time.
  3. Examine how drinking has affected your life.
  4. Write down your life priorities.
  5. Take a look at how much, how often, and under what circumstances you had been drinking.
  6. Learn the MM guidelines and limits for moderate drinking.
  7. Set moderate drinking limits and start weekly "small steps" toward balance and moderation in other areas of your life.
  8. Review your progress and update your goals.
  9. Continue to make positive lifestyle changes and attend meetings whenever you need ongoing support or would like to help newcomers.

The MM limits and guidelines were derived from the work of Dr. Martha Sanchez-Craig. MM members are encouraged, but do not need to follow, the suggested guidelines, limits and steps. MM does not view non-dependent problem drinkers as alcoholics, but rather people with a bad, but controllable, habit. MM does not state that surrender or spirituality is needed to end or control the habit. MM literature makes a similar distinction to Alcoholics Anonymous literature that there are problem drinkers who can return to controlled drinking and alcoholics who can not.

MM groups give members a chance to identify with other problem drinkers and learn from the successes and failures of each other. Mutual support and encouragement is provided. Face-to-face meetings last about an hour, whereas online meetings are ongoing. "Crosstalk," members interrupting each other to provide feedback during meetings, is allowed. Mental health professionals are allowed to help start MM meetings, but ultimate control must be left to the participants. A content analysis of online MM meetings found the most common types of communication by members were self-disclosure, provision of information and advice, and provision of emotional support. Similar studies of depression and eating disorder support groups have found the same patterns.

Read more about this topic:  Moderation Management

Famous quotes containing the word methodology:

    “One might get the impression that I recommend a new methodology which replaces induction by counterinduction and uses a multiplicity of theories, metaphysical views, fairy tales, instead of the customary pair theory/observation. This impression would certainly be mistaken. My intention is not to replace one set of general rules by another such set: my intention is rather to convince the reader that all methodologies, even the most obvious ones, have their limits.”
    —Paul Feyerabend (1924–1994)