Case Study

Candy Collins, a 46-year-old wife and mother of two, comes to her physician’s office seeking help for alcohol abuse. She says her husband has threatened to leave her and take her children with him if she doesn’t stop. The nurse determines that Mrs. Collins drinks at least five or six alcoholic beverages daily, usually starting after dinner, although sometimes she begins drinking after the children leave for school. The nurse learns Mrs. Collins’s behavior began 5 years ago, shortly after her youngest child began preschool. She denies having blackouts, although she reports occasionally waking in the morning with no memory of the night before.

Question 1

What other data would you want to collect from Mrs. Collins related to her abuse of alcohol?

Question 2

What treatment would you anticipate appropriate for this client?

Question 3

What teaching would you provide both Mrs. Collins and her husband?