SPOUSE ENABLING OF ALCOHOL-ABUSE - CONCEPTION, ASSESSMENT, AND MODIFICATION

This article presents a conception of spouse enabling of partner alcoh ol abuse, a review of its dysfunctions, and an approach to assessment and modification to reduce spouse enabling behavior. Based on experien ce with its use in unilateral family therapy with many spouses of trea tment-refusing alcohol abusers, procedural guidelines, treatment metho ds, two case examples from a crossover experimental dyad, and clinical results for the two cases in the dyad are described. Also presented a re practice issues, characteristics of spouse enabling as they relate to disenabling intervention, and areas of possible application of the disenabling program.