Interview with our school counsellor:
As the diagrams above show, most students in Germany drink alcohol occasionally. Normally this is not alarming, but drinking too much alcohol can cause an addiction which can be followed by health problems
That´s why we spoke with our school counsellor, Father Dr Jürgen Langer, about his experiences helping students who have an alcohol addiction or at least have troubles with alcohol.
Father Langer, could you tell us something about your person?
I was born in 1963 in Bonn and attended Collegium Josephinum.
I did an apprenticeship to become a paramedic. In 1985 I entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, a Roman Catholic order. Today I am a school counsellor and teacher at Collegium Josphinum as well as an organiser of the Emergency-Pastoral-Care in the metropolitan area of Bonn.
(►http://redemptoristen.org/index.php?site=10&ID=3[de])
Which specific apprenticeships do you have as school counsellor and Emergency-Pastoral-Assistant respectively?
I completed all apprenticeships for Emergency-Pastoral-Care. For example I am a paramedic, have received a doctorate degree in pastoral psychology and did several further educational trainings.
What are your tasks as a school counsellor and Emergency-Pastoral-Assistant respectively?
At school I organise youth work and religious events, such as services, as well as counselling students. Furthermore in this area I am in a team to help in difficult situations, like in accidents with many badly injured or dead persons.
Does your job as school counsellor and Emergency-Pastoral-Assistant respectively take most of your time or are there are other tasks?
It is my main task. In addition I give some lessons of religious education.
As a school counsellor, have you dealt with alcohol or nicotine addiction at school yet?
I had no cases of a nicotine addiction. There are students smoking but an addiction can start the earliest a few years after they have left school. However, I had a few little cases with an alcohol addiction.
How do you proceed when students speak to you about these problems with alcohol?
At first I decide how far developed the addiction is; once there is a real addiction, we need to get in contact with a helpdesk for addictions outside school. But this case is very uncommon, because normally the development towards a full addiction takes place after schooldays. That´s why conversations about possible changes and reasons for drinking alcohol can help. But everything depends on the motivation of the student himself.