Ralph E. Jones likes to help people.

A psychologist who specializes in addiction, Jones has lived in the Rio Grande Valley resident since 1958.

He experienced the damages of alcohol first hand early in life, growing up in a broken home in California.

“I saw a lot of drinking,” Jones said. “It caused a lot of havoc in my family.”

Now 72, Jones is re-releasing his book “More Straight Talk: Answers to Questions Young People Ask About Alcohol.”

It will be the book’s third edition, and comes out in May.

Because of the negative home environment, Jones went to live with his uncle and became a cowboy.

Eventually, he enlisted in the Air Force, which further exposed him to alcohol abuse and the problems it creates. So he changed from his active duty role to one tasked with controlling alcohol on the front lines.

At that time, it was easy to depend on drinking in the military, he said.

“We were surrounded with kegs and beer busts,” he said. “There was a lot of appreciation for alcohol.”

After the military, Jones went back to school, eventually earning a Ph.D. from Columbia Pacific University in 1984. His focus was counseling psychology, and he eventually opened his own practice to help people with alcohol dependency.

Jones said dependence can and does often happen at a young age.

“For young people, you have peer pressure,” he said. “People like the effect that it (alcohol) can give. It takes away inhibitions.”

His book deals with the questions young people have about alcohol – like how to avoid peer pressure and how to deal with the presence of alcohol use and abuse in the household.

The first edition of his book was published in 1988, and the second was released a year later. Still, the problem remains the same, Jones said, and he didn’t have to tweak much to catch up with the times.

He continues to do consultant work with the VA for free.