Treating Patients with Alcohol and Other Drug Problems

This volume should provide therapists with the tools they need to treat patients suffering from alcohol and other drug problems. It reviews the complex aetiology of drug dependence and describes methods for assessment, treatment, and relapse prevention in individual therapy.

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For decades, epidemiological studies have shown that use of alcohol and other drugs is so widespread in clinical populations that practitioners cannot assume it is not an issue, even in the absence of warning signs. Sometimes drug use is the main source of a client's problems; other times, drug use exacerbates presenting problems. In either case, many patients fail to disclose use, and many therapists lack the methods to both root out and then cope with drug misuse and dependence. This volume should provide therapists with the tools they need to better treat patients suffering from alcohol and other drug problems. The authors provide methods that will enhance both the confidence and skills of psychotherapists who need to address alcohol and other drugs of abuse in their ongoing work with patients. It reviews the complex aetiology of drug dependence and describes methods for assessment, treatment (both individual and family), and relapse prevention in individual therapy. Numerous case examples, a list of resources, and handouts for work in both group and individual therapy settings are included.
This volume also describes the larger treatment community (both self-help and professional), which will help therapists work more effectively with these programmes. This readable, empirically-based and comprehensive volume should be a valuable resource for psychologists, psychiatrists, medical professionals, social workers, community substance abuse counsellors and those working in social services, juvenile services and the criminal justice system.