This is a substantial expansion of the first edition of this book for clinicians. This Therapist Guide has been renamed "Overcoming Your Alcohol or Drug Problem: Effective Recovery Strategies." The first six chapters provide an overview of substance use problems and assessment, treatment settings, psychosocial therapies, and medications for substance use disorders. This book gives a summary of Evidenced-Based Treatments for Subsance Use Disorders based on funded studies from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Nine chapters address specific change issues and practical strategies for clinicians. These chapters deal with stages of change, using therapy, setting goals, and managing the common challenges of recovery--cravings, thoughts of using, emotions, substance use offers, family and interpersonal problems, recovery support systems and mutual self-help groups such as AA, NA and others. Information in these chapters (and those that follow on co-occurring psychiatric disorders and relapse issues) can be used with clients in individual, group or family therapies.
Two new chapters were added on assessment and treatment of co-occurring psychiatric disorders. Both psychosocial and pharmacologic treatments are discussed.
Four chapters address relapse prevention, relapse management, balanced living and measuring progress. The references section includes a substantial number of papers, books and articles from the scientific and clinical literature.