Zurich office for alcohol problems
The Addiction Center Zurich (formerly the Zurich Center for Alcohol Problems) offers information, advice, therapy and addiction medical treatment for people of all ages on behalf of the City of Zurich. This also includes coaching and advanced training for managers and specialists from various areas. All employees are subject to confidentiality, guarantee data protection and work politically and confessionally neutral.
Objectives and self-image
The primary goal of the addiction center in Zurich is to reduce the problematic consumption of alcohol , medication and other psychoactive substances and to support people with behavioral addictions . The Addiction Center in Zurich offers qualified services aimed at those affected and their relatives of all age groups (counseling and psychotherapy) as well as at specialists and managers who are confronted with alcohol or addiction problems in their everyday work ( secondary prevention ). The individual offers are aimed at people who live in the city of Zurich, Affoltern and Kappel a. A. as well as live in Rifferswil or work for municipal companies. Group offers can be attended by people from all over the Canton of Zurich .
The addiction center in Zurich offers low-threshold access to its outpatient services. In order to reach affected people from the target groups addressed, it works with so-called multipliers - managers, HR managers and specialists from the areas of social affairs, education and health.
organization
When it was founded, the initiators of the Zurich Specialist Unit for Alcohol Problems (from October 1, 2019, the Addiction Unit Zurich), which included leading figures from the urban and cantonal Zurich abstinence movement , laid down the organizational model that has remained in its basic features to this day. Their concern was to guarantee the religious and political neutrality of the counseling work on a permanent basis.
The addiction center in Zurich is run by a private association of the same name within the meaning of Art. 60ff. ZGB based in Zurich.
history
In February 1912, the "Zurich Welfare Office for Alcoholics" began its work. It was the first full-time advice center for alcohol aid in Switzerland. In addition to advising alcoholics and their relatives, her initial tasks included arranging suitable abstinence clubs and drinking sanctuaries for outpatient or inpatient withdrawal, initiating custodial measures and, not infrequently, taking on a custodial mandate. The original one-man business became in the first two decades continuously expanded. With a total of ten employees, the ZFA was considered the largest welfare agency for alcoholics in Europe in 1934, the year it was incorporated into Zurich for the second time. The addiction center in Zurich has been based at Josefstrasse 91 near Limmatplatz since 1984 . With over 100 years of experience in the field of alcohol abuse, the Zurich specialist center for alcohol problems takes on current social developments and expands its range of services. Under the new name Suchtfachstelle Zürich (from October 1, 2019), the team of experts informs, advises and treats adults and young people, their environment and specialists not only on issues relating to alcohol and medication, but also in the future on illegal addictive substances and problematic behaviors. Not only the appearance of alcoholism and thus the clientele of the ZFA has changed since it was founded, the former care work has also changed profoundly, professionalized and specialized. The treatment options have multiplied and individualized: Supportive medication has been available since the 1940s, the duration of inpatient withdrawal has been massively reduced, and outpatient follow-up care has become all the more important. In certain cases the detoxification phase can take place as part of an outpatient withdrawal program, " controlled drinking " can be agreed as a legitimate therapy goal under certain conditions (as an alternative to total abstinence).
Because an addiction problem usually affects the family and workplace as well, the Addiction Center in Zurich attaches great importance to involving partners, children and the whole family and, where appropriate, caregivers at work. In order to meet the individual needs of those seeking advice in the best possible way, the Addiction Center Zurich has an interdisciplinary team of specialists who bring together a diverse repertoire of tried and tested methodological and therapeutic approaches. Since 2009, the Addiction Center in Zurich has been offering addiction medical consultation hours to clients with multiple addictions and / or psychological concomitant diseases.
The association has been involved in the field of prevention since it was founded . In 1929 the establishment of its own prevention department succeeded in establishing it as an institution. Education about the dangers of alcohol consumption and the promotion of an alcohol-free lifestyle were in the foreground at the time. With the spread of illegal drugs, prevention work has changed significantly since the 1970s. Today, the addiction center in Zurich is active in the field of early detection (secondary prevention). It is aimed at key people in the world of work (managers and HR managers) in order to sensitize them to the problem of “alcohol at work”, to point out possible solutions and to offer support in specific cases.
The overall management of the specialist unit is now the responsibility of a management board elected by the board. Special efforts have been made in recent years to improve quality. In 2008, the Addiction Center in Zurich (then the Zurich Department for Alcohol Problems) was one of the first outpatient departments in Switzerland to receive the certificate of the quality management system QuaTheDA (abbreviated for: Quality, Therapy, Drugs, Alcohol) developed by the Federal Office of Public Health . The purpose of this instrument is to achieve a uniform and binding understanding of quality in the entire outpatient and inpatient addiction support area.
financing
The city and canton of Zurich support the work of the addiction center Zurich with considerable donations. The Social Department of the City of Zurich pays contributions based on a multi-year performance-based contract; considerable funds come from the alcohol tenth administered by the cantonal social welfare office. Further state funds flow on a project basis.
The addiction center Zurich receives additional funds from contributions from association members, donations from individuals, institutions and foundations, legacies, private project contributions, etc. The clients of the addiction center in Zurich bear part of the consultation and treatment costs (the initial consultation is free of charge; medical services as part of the addiction medical consultation can be billed to the health insurance company). Services in the area of prevention / early detection are billed to the customer according to the effort.
The association has been recognized and certified by ZEWO as a non-profit organization since 1941. The accounting is carried out according to Swiss GAAP FER 21, the detailed annual accounts are published annually in the annual report of the addiction center in Zurich.
Offers and services (as of 2019)
The association offers those directly and indirectly affected support in the areas of counseling / psychotherapy, addiction medicine and secondary prevention / early detection.
Psychosocial counseling and psychotherapy for those affected and their families of all age groups
Information and advice take place in individual or group settings. Contents and goals are agreed together with the client. In particular, the addiction center in Zurich offers the wigwam group for children “an age-appropriate support offer for children from families with addiction problems”.
Addiction medical services for those affected
Since 2009, the association has been running an addiction medical consultation on its own premises. Thanks to the cooperation with the Psychiatric Polyclinic of the City of Zurich, clients of the Zurich Addiction Center are also able to benefit from medical services.
Training and coaching (secondary prevention)
Managers and HR managers are confronted with addiction problems and behavioral addictions in the workplace. As so-called key persons, you have a good chance of recognizing problematic developments at an early stage, intervening appropriately and thus helping to improve the situation. The association therefore also offers secondary preventive measures such as employee training and further education.