Back to everyday life – The perspective of mothers with an alcohol dependence

The presented study is dedicated to alcohol-dependent women with children with the aim, to investigate the impact of motherhood as a factor in the treatment of alcohol. All mothers in the investigated study have undergone... [ view full abstract ]

The presented study is dedicated to alcohol-dependent women with children with the aim, to investigate the impact of motherhood as a factor in the treatment of alcohol. All mothers in the investigated study have undergone in-patient treatment or have attended on a day basis in the “Forel Clinic”, Competence Centre for the treatment of alcohol, medication and tobacco dependence.
Studies show that alcohol dependent mothers have a relatively high rate of relapse. But little is actually known about specific challenges in everyday life of mothers after having received treatment of alcohol dependence. To understand individual meaning of motherhood and alcohol dependence, the qualitative study focussed mothers’ narratives about their experiences and changes after treatment of alcohol. There were two meetings questioning the clients, the first one at the end of treatment, the second about six months later.
At the workshop we want to show the importance of involving the users’ perspectives in social work research and to discuss main challenges within narrative data in and after clinical interventions.
On the basis of the results of the qualitative study we will show that there is a gap between the clinical context and the day-to-day living. In the clinical context focus is on intra-personal issues, whereas in the everyday live after treatment inter-personal experiences and expectations (of mothers’ family) are of main importance.
By presenting findings in users’ perspectives we want to discuss how to assess the challenges of the mothers and how to optimize translation into therapy-settings and the afterwards care.