Please find below the Spanish Country Report produced by Asociacion de Ex-Alcoholicos Espanoles - September 2003

On the occasion of the ARO´s request to join EUROCARE, we will make a brief report about the associations and organisations of alcoholics that are actually working in Spain. We are fully aware that is not easy to speak in the name of all. In fact, that is not our intention. Our purpose is you people to make an idea of how an association works in our country. For that reason we will take as a model our own organisation AEE, not because we think is the mirror every association should look at, but because we know it well. Also because, formed in 1967, AEE it is one of the oldest organisations in Spain. Indeed AEE it was the first organisation that included the term alcoholic in its denomination.

A brief description of aims and current activities, referred to 2002 term, would include:

• Treatment: By treatment we mean the rehabilitation of alcoholics and maintenance of abstinence. The main tool AEE has to reach this aim is the treatment group therapy that take place daily at the association's headquarters. These sessions are lead by the top qualified medical and psychological staff of AEE. There are three types of groups: alcoholics, familiars and alcoholics and familiars. During 2002 term 602 sessions were held, 7.974 people assisted to them, what means an average of 13.2 people for session. A secondary tool to reach this objective is the cooperation with governmental, medical, judicial and other authorities to recover alcoholics in general.

• Education: This aim is, at the same time, an aim of the above mentioned one. By treatment we try to raise moral, cultural and social education of alcoholics and orientation of their families and of general society.

• Information: This objective is developed by AEE inside its offices and outside: inside the headquarters by greeting alcoholics and through our hot line and web site (in 2002 we received 114 alcoholics in our headquarters and 1.240 calls were made to our hot line); outside the offices we visit schools and colleges, and take part in TV and radio programs.