A Stressed Out High School Student Manifests A Number of Alcohol-Related Issues, Gets Suspended From School, and Has to See the School Counselor
Thursday, November 5th, 2009Dante was a seventeen year old high school senior who was displaying numerous alcohol-related issues at school. For that reason, the principal told him that he had to see Miss Johnson, the school counselor, before he would be allowed to come back to class.
Later that day when Dante went home after school, he had to go over his school discharge with his Mom and Dad. His parents were “old school” and explained to Dante that getting kicked out of school was not a practical educational plan of action. They told Dante that failing to graduate from high school would more likely than not be like a lead weight around his feet that could probably impair his educational aspirations for the remainder of his life. Moreover, Dante’s Mother and Father were quite disappointed that he was drinking in the first place and drinking with his buddies in the second.
His parents explained to Dante that although he may be a teen, he needs to understand rather quickly that drinking is the road to financial problems, failure, ill health, and pain.
It was clear that his Mom and Dad were in total accord with Dante’s principal and explained to Dante that he had better come to the realization that he needs to see Miss Johnson, the school therapist. After his dialogue with his Mother and Father, Dante at long last agreed to see Miss Johnson the next day. So Dante called the school and scheduled an appointment to see Miss Johnson the next day during his first period class.
The Psychologist Asks Dante if He Understands Why His Recent Alcohol-Related Behavior Signaled Such Alarm By the School Administrators
When Dante went to see Miss Johnson, she instantaneously looked at all of the alcohol-related problems Dante had experienced and asked him if he knew why his recent alcohol-related actions made the school administrators uneasy.
Quite frankly, Dante questioned why the principal informed him that he had to see a school psychologist. As he expressed to Miss Johnson, why should he see a professional psychologist about his drinking situation? Because virtually all of his friends drink the same amount that he does, essentially, drinking is no big thing. Stated more forcefully, if almost everybody is drinking, why is this such a major problem?
Miss Johnson asked Dante when he started to drink. He said that some of his older buddies introduced him to drinking hard liquor when he was twelve or thirteen years old and between the sixth and seventh grades.
Miss Johnson explained to Dante that while his buddies may indeed drink as much as he does and that they may be a negative influence on him, the facts are that he is the one who is getting discharged from school due to alcohol-related absenteeism, fighting, and delinquency, not his pals. Not only this but Miss Johnson also underscored the fact that Dante, and not his buddies, is the one who is failing and who is missing one day of class per week due to his alcohol related issues. Finally, Miss Johnson highlighted the fact that due to his drinking circumstances, Dante is getting into a harmful cycle of abusive drinking that can in due course wreck his hopes, dreams and aspirations.
In a word, Dante’s involvement with teenage alcohol abuse was starting to impede his ability to behave like a responsible young man. As stated by Miss Johnson, “Just because most of your pals drink wine, hard liquor, wine coolers, or beer does not mean that it is the correct behavior for you.”
Dante Learns That In the Long Run He Must Take Responsibility For Himself In Order to Keep Away From Destructive, Dangerous, Damaging, and Unhealthy Effects In the Future
Miss Johnson explained to Dante that one’s pals can certainly influence a person in a negative way, but that the person herself or himself has to ultimately take responsibility for herself or himself in order to stay away from destructive, damaging, unhealthy, and dangerous consequences in the future.
Fortunately, Miss Johnson was very well equipped for her meeting with Dante. She showed him reports and research studies she had underlined that outlined different drinking facts and statistics that applied to most people in general. Then she showed Dante quite a bit of data that applied particularly to teenagers.
As an illustration, Miss Johnson explained the difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism and explained to Dante that people who continue to drink in an abusive manner often become addicted to alcohol.
Miss Johnson also articulated the concept of binge drinking that she defined as follows: ingesting five or more drinks in one sitting for males and consuming four or more drinks in one sitting for females.
The Counselor Conveys Several Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Statistics and Facts
Then Miss Johnson articulated various alcohol facts and the following eight alcohol abuse statistics:
1. The 25.9% of adolescent drinkers in the United States who are alcohol abusers and alcoholic drink 47.3% of the alcohol that is ingested by all teen drinkers.
2. Fifty percent of U.S. murders are related to alcohol.
3. In 2002, U.S. alcohol addiction statistics and facts demonstrated that 2.6 million binge drinkers were between the ages of 12 and 17.
4. It is estimated that more than 3 million teens in the U.S. between the ages of 14 to 17 are alcohol abusers or alcohol dependent.
5. In the United States, more than forty percent of those who begin drinking at the age 14 or younger become addicted to alcohol.
6. Very few of the more than 18 million U.S. alcohol abusers receive the alcohol treatment they need.
7. Adolescent drinking costs Americans nearly billion per year. If this cost were shared equally by each congressional district, the amount would total more than 0 million per district.
8. Alcohol-related problems are unevenly found among both adult and juvenile criminal offenders.
Dante Gets A Meaningful Jolt of Reality Concerning the Long Term and the Short Term Effects of Underage Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse
After Miss Johnson verbalized the aforementioned alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse statistics and facts, it was evident that what Miss Johnson taught Dante was a real eye opener for him. Why? Because for the first time in his young life, someone not only took the time to go over the long term and the short term consequences of alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse, but she also made the effort to support what she was saying with alcohol abuse and alcoholism facts and statistics that related to everyone in general, and principally to today’s youth.
Certainly, it was almost as if a light went on and Dante at once comprehended why he should not be engaging in hazardous and abusive drinking with or without his buddies any longer. Dante thanked Miss Johnson for her concern and for the material she went over.
Miss Johnson then asked Dante how he felt about getting a physical examination and an alcohol appraisal for the alcohol abuse or alcoholism rehab he would probably need.
Dante thought about this for few minutes and then agreed to get an extensive physical examination and to go through a complete appraisal of his drinking situation so that he could start an alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency treatment program in a reasonable time frame.


