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Question

My father is 60 years old and I am concerned about his emotional state. When I visit him he becomes very tearful when he thinks about my leaving. When we depart, the crying is worse and he can´t control his tears. I made the observation, that he cries more, when he drank alcohol on the day before. (In general he is not drinking too much.) He has already seen a doctor, who gave him pills for calming down, to no avail. As you may know the attitude against psychology in Europe is not very good, and therefore my father in law is not willing to ask a psychologist. Any ideas how we could help?

Answer

Encouraging him to not drink will be helpful but I doubt sufficient. Consider consulting with his doctor first. By your brief description, he doesn't sound anxious but significantly depressed. If the doctor prescribed antianxiety medications, they could be making matters worse. Antidepressant medications might be more appropriate. You may also need to find a physician with an interest in mood disorders for your father to see.

02/19/98

Reid K. Hester, Ph.D.
Director, Research Division
Behavior Therapy Associates
3810 Osuna Rd NE Suite 1
Albuquerque, NM 87109
505.345.6100 ph
505.342.2454 fax
Behavioral Self-control Program for Windows