Curriculum Review of A Matter of Balance

By Sarah Barton, Sagamore Institute Faith in Communities, 2004

A Matter of Balance is a prevention workbook intended for college-age students and older teens.  It is produced by CNS Productions, which, in conjunction with the Haight Ashbury Detox Clinic in San Francisco, California, specializes in drug education materials for college age students.  It is a valuable tool for organizations wishing to incorporate personalized and interactive drug awareness and drug abuse prevention skill development into their programs.

A Matter of Balance is designed to encourage both personal reflection and group discussion by program participants.  Each chapter of this workbook contains “FYIs” containing facts and perspectives on the topics being discussed, workbook exercises, group exercises, and personal inquiries providing suggestions for a personal journal that could be kept in space provided at the end of the workbook.  The pages of the workbook are detachable for easy use and flexibility.

This well-organized workbook is divided into three sections.  The first section, including chapters 1 through 10, addresses the roles of heredity and environment and looks at psychoactive drugs.  These chapters examine values and attitudes toward drug and alcohol use; the risks associated with their use in light of heredity, the impact of environment; the psychological and physical effects of alcohol and drug use; and strategies aimed at decreasing the chances of substance abuse that emphasize natural highs, physical health, wellness, self-esteem and problem-solving skills.

The second section takes a close look at environmental pressures.  Chapters 11 through 20 address the perceptions of alcohol and drug use by others; protective mechanisms used by cultures to regulate use of psychoactive substances; the influence of the media, pressures by tobacco companies; rites of passage; and conceptions of adult behavior.  These chapters also address such relevant issues as:

• how strong social skills can reduce reliance on alcohol and drugs,
• the impact of alcohol and drugs on sexual activity, violence, and anger,
• how to reduce the risk of harm, and
• ways to make positive changes to the environment.

The third section of the workbook is aimed at individuals who need to halt the progression of alcohol and drug use.  The topics covered include the signs of substance abuse, denial, coping with social pressures to use or abuse drugs or alcohol, the relationship between substance use and psychological disorders, informal support and self-help groups, professional help, and the economic costs of the use or abuse of alcohol and drugs.

A Matter of Balance helps young adults to realize that they are now responsible for their own well-being and encourages them to use the information and skills in the workbook to help themselves shape their own futures.

by Michael E. Holstein, William E. Cohen, et al. (CNS Publications, Inc., 1995)

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Summary:

A Matter of Balance is a comprehensive workbook that could be completed as a stand-alone course or used to pull exercises and facts for handouts.  It offers practical applications, skill-building exercises, challenges to think critically about issues, and specific activities to practice and apply to the students’ own situations.  It covers abstention and limited use by focusing on self-assessment, stress reduction, natural highs, refusal skills, self-esteem and models for change.  It also leads students through strategies for harm reduction and self-protection when the goal is controlling use.  It suggests a series of first steps for intervention and treatment.  The material is presented in three in-depth sections:

• Heredity, Environment, Psychoactive Drugs, Getting High Naturally, Making Personal Changes
• Environmental Pressures to Use, the Media, Resiliency, Relationships, STD’s, Anger, Changing the Current Environment
• Halting the Progression, Recognizing Signs and Symptoms of Substance Abuse, Practical and Ethical Dilemmas of Enabling, Eating Disorders, Mentors and Role Models, the Costs of Use, Where do I Go From Here

Why does FASTEN recommend this resource?

This workbook is written for young adults in their late teens and intended for courses in substance abuse, health and wellness and counseling, as well as for programs in athletics and peer advising.  It could also be included in “surviving college” courses, in a DUI program, as prevention for at-risk teens, or in a probationary program.  It is written from a secular viewpoint but provides excellent information and worksheets that could be used as supplementary material in a faith-based program.