Meyer* knew that his drinking was out of control, but try as he might, he just couldn’t seem to kick the habit.  Alcohol was the only thing that made the pain go away and while he was able to stay sober for a few months at a time, eventually his PTSD would kick in as the memories of his dysfunctional and abusive upbringing surfaced yet again.  And the only way that Meyer knew how to escape the demons that haunted him was to drown his sorrows in Jack Daniels, straight up.

Believe it or not, the night that Meyer was arrested for drunk driving actually turned out to be the best night of his life.  Meyer’s wife of five years, Shani, called Amudim for assistance with both the legal issues and the underlying drinking problem and our case managers worked tirelessly with the family and the authorities to coordinate penalties that were constructive, not punitive. After a miserable night in jail, Meyer was issued a fine and community service and was mandated an outpatient treatment program that would best suit his needs, with Amudim making all the necessary arrangements.

Over the course of Meyer’s treatment, it became clear that he lacked the proper coping skills to deal with the trauma he had suffered as a child and day by day, his therapist worked with him to deal with those unresolved issues.  In addition to getting Meyer the help he needed, our case worker also helped Shani enroll in therapy as well as support groups such as al-anon so that she could understand her role in helping Meyer manage his addiction, which is actually a family illness.