Concise Guide to Treatment of Alcoholism & Addictions (Concise Guides) [Paperback]

Avram H. Mack (Author), Richard J. Frances (Author), John E. Franklin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2001

The extensively revised edition of this easy-to-read, authoritative guide arms health care professionals in the trenches with the latest clinical and research wisdom in a convenient formAa pocket-sized yet comprehensive reference (part of the APPI's ongoing Concise Guides Series) packed with practical advice they can use every day. Intended to complement lengthier works on the same subject, this Concise Guide is grounded in both the central importance of the doctor-patient relationship and in the empirically based DSM-IV-TR, systematically detailing all definitions and disorders within the entire addiction section. It also presents the latest research findings, including epidemiology data, treatment recommendations that address the newest medications and psychosocial therapeutic modalities, and entirely new tables and references. Its relevance is further enhanced by the experience of all three authors, who treat addictions and their complications daily in both inpatient and outpatient clinical settings. Following an introduction to the general tenets, therapeutic alliance, and potential treatment abuses of substance use disorders, topics presented include: -Magnitude of the problemAGeneral epidemiology, polysubstance problems and underlying issues, and all substances addressed in DSM-IV-TR (e.g., alcohol, opioids, cannabis, and phencyclidine/ketamine) -Developmental issues in the fieldADisease concept, neurobiology, prevention, and treatment; definition, presentation, and diagnosis-nosology, general and specific definitions, polysubstance dependence, diagnosis, and psychiatric comorbidity -Detecting and approaching substance abuse in the general hospital and workplace; laboratory findings and diagnostic instruments; natural histories of substance abuse, detailing all substances addressed in DSM-IV-TR -Treatment approaches for substance use disordersAAbstinence, relapse, characteristic predictors of success, differential therapeutics, matching treatment to the patient, treatment settings and clinical situations, polysubstance abuse, treatment and psychopharmacologic modalities, and psychosocial treatments -Treatment approaches for special populationsAWomen; children and adolescents; the elderly; chronic, handicapped, and homeless patients; cognitively impaired chronic patients; blind and deaf patients; and minorities With its practical focus and remarkable range, this exceptional reference is useful for both students and practitioners across a broad professional and multicultural audience. Although primarily written for clinicians and other mental health care professionals, this informative guide will also be welcomed by allied professionals such as addiction counselors, lawyers, police and corrections officers, clergy, educators, and public policy makers.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Avram H. Mack, M.D., is a physician at The Brigham and WomenÂs Hospital and Clinical Fellow at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. John E. Franklin Jr., M.D., M.Sc., is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Addiction Psychiatry at Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. Richard J. Frances, M.D., is President and Medical Director of Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at New York University; and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark, New Jersey.

Product Details

• Paperback: 213 pages
• Publisher: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.; 2nd edition (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880488034
• ISBN-13: 978-0880488037
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,651,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Exc ellent Presentation of Addiction in All its Aspects, February 29, 2008

By 

J. Clemons "clotblaster" (Surfdom California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Concise Guide to Treatment of Alcoholism and Addictions (Concise Guides) (Paperback)

The number of pages in this book and its size may lead readers to believe that this is a very short overview of addiction and alcoholism. Fortunately, this is not true. This book is jam-packed with details on addiction, including its definition, various manifestations, treatment, etc. Also, it is very well-written, balanced and even-handed, on this volatile, much disputed subject. For example, unlike many books by psychiatrists, it does not dismiss or assault twelve-step programs. This is important because many medical professionals feel compelled to critique 12 step programs without giving them a fair hearing.

Doctors feed their egos by maintaining that they can do a better job of treating addiction, particularly alcoholism. To be candid, doctors and others in the medical world are worried that non-professional approaches to addiction can be successful, thus dispensing with some of the services provided by these self-selected experts ( Doctors consider themselves to be an elite, without offering empirical, persuasive evidence that they know better on all things that even faintly fall within the ambit of professional medical treatment).

Moreover, this book merges psychiatric treatment of mental disorders with treatement of addiction. This seems elementary, but it is truly amazing that so many psychiatrists do not feel obligated to know how to treat both addiction and mental disorders when they coalesce in one person. Ironically, most doctors don't want to treat addiction, but, as stated above, they don't want non-professionals (AA or NA) to get any credit for their efforts (often successful) in treating alcoholics and drug addicts.

This book provides a lot of useful information for both professionals and for laymen. Highly recommended