The history of the treatment of alcohol and other drug problems in the United States has not followed a simple path. Various views on what causes addiction have often come into conflict. For example, one widely held belief about addicts is that people exercise free will in choosing to use drugs. A different but very common view is that drug addiction is a disease that overwhelms a person's free will. Since treatment efforts began, experts have been searching for insights into the best methods of intervention. This article provides an overview of the treatment methods used from the nineteenth century to the twenty- first century.

The History of the Treatment of Alcoholism

Mutual Aid. In the nineteenth century, people who drank heavily were called "habitual drunkards." (The term "alcoholic" came into use in the twentieth century...