Darmstadt: More people need help from addiction counseling

• fromClaudia Kabel

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Not only does the consumption of alcohol increase in Corona times. The demand for addiction advice from Caritas Darmstadt is also increasing.

A current Forsa survey on behalf of the commercial health insurance company shows that alcohol consumption among the population has increased since the beginning of the corona pandemic.

You can also feel the growing need for therapeutic support in the Addiction Help Center of the Caritas Association in Darmstadt. Compared to the previous year, more than four times as many relatives have taken advantage of advice because a family member has an alcohol problem, namely 55 instead of only twelve as in the same period last year, says the head of the addiction center, Andrea Wiechert.

Expect increasing numbers in consulting in the coming year. “Problematic drug consumption has arrived in the middle of society,” said Wiechert. The addiction help center is one of the few outpatient advice centers that are the contact point for those affected and their relatives. As a compulsory provider, it is, according to Social Affairs Director Barbara Akdeniz (Greens), “an important pillar in the city’s overall concept of addiction and drug help”.

This Wednesday, the German headquarters for addiction issues wants to draw attention to the tense situation with a day of action. At Caritas Darmstadt, one of 1,300 addiction counseling centers nationwide, those affected reported their experiences to the press.

Sylvia K. (names of those affected) has been clean for 590 days. For the 54-year-old, alcohol has been part of her youth, as she says. When she was bullied at work, she drank more and more. “Until I just broke and couldn’t eat anything.” The family doctor sent her for inpatient detoxification, and she was given a therapy place at Caritas. Today addiction counseling is “like an anchor” for them. Even Lars P. would not have made it without therapy. The auto mechanic drank alcohol, took cocaine and amphetamines. The 39-year-old does not know why he consumed until he could no longer pay the rent and flew out of the apartment with a lot of debt. “It was a habit, a vicious circle.”

1500 people come to Caritas addiction counseling every year. 900 of them need long-term therapy, 600 only need a few consultation appointments, and many conversations take place over the phone because of Corona. Self-control training is also offered, in which those affected determine the goal of their consumption themselves.

The city bears the costs for addiction counseling. Therapy offers are taken over by health insurers and pension funds.

Infos: www.caritas-darmstadt.de

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