Am J Psychiatry 1976; 133:641-645
Copyright © 1976 by American Psychiatric Association
The future of alcohology: craft or science?
M Kalb and MS Propper
The authors discuss the problems that have resulted from the influx of
professionals into the field of alcoholism, which has historically been
dominated by paraprofessional workers. The interaction of the professional
alcohologist, who operates from a scientific model, with the
paraprofessional worker, whose model of treatment has followed craft lines,
has created unique problems and tensions. A synergism has been created
which has been detrimental rather than complementary. The authors suggest
that the future of the alcoholism field will have to be established along
craft (paraprofessional) or scientific (professional) lines because the two
models cannot profitably co-exist.
