Addictive Substances and Neurological Disease: Alcohol, Tobacco, Caffeine, and Drugs of Abuse in Everyday Lifestyles is a complete guide to the manifold effects of addictive substances on the brain, providing readers with the latest developing research on how these substances are implicated in neurological development and dysfunction. Cannabis, cocaine, and other illicit drugs can have substantial negative effects on the structure and functioning of the brain. However, other common habituating and addictive substances often used as part of an individual's lifestyle, i.e., alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, painkillers can also compromise brain health and effect or accentuate neurological disease. This book provides broad coverage of the effects of addictive substances on the brain, beginning with an overview of how the substances lead to dysfunction before examining each substance in depth. It discusses the pathology of addiction, the structural damage resulting from abuse of various substances, and covers the neurobiological, neurodegenerative, behavioral, and cognitive implications of use across the lifespan, from prenatal exposure, to adolescence and old age. This book aids researchers seeking an understanding of the neurological changes that these substances induce, and is also extremely useful for those seeking potential treatments and therapies for individuals suffering from chronic abuse of these substances.

Research in the past decade has shown that substance abuse and substance dependence are treatable. The field has witnessed the introduction of evidence-based psychological and specific pharmacological treatments. Unfortunately, many of the empirical supported therapies for addictions are still not widely applied by practitioners. The third volume in the "Practical Clinical Guidebooks Series (PCG), Evidence-Based Treatment in Substance Abuse "and Dependence would encompass the developments in the field over the last decade, blending theory, techniques and clinical flexibility. The book will provide case illustrations on assessment as well as therapy, and will be suitable for practitioners and students training in clinical and counseling psychology, psychiatry, social work and related fields.
The book would define the characteristics, classification, and prevalence of substance use disorders, and provide the clinician with practical guidelines applicable across a variety of treatment settings and patient groups. Drawing on the recent research in the field, the authors will provide the practicing clinician and student with an up-to-date understanding of the epidemiology, etiology, course and prognosis of substance abuse disorders that would be relevant to clinical practice. In addition to describing phenomenology and etiology, the book provides a comprehensive guide to the assessment and treatment of DSM-IV-TR substance abuse disorders (SUDs), including abuse and dependence of alcohol, stimulants, opiates, hallucinogens, cannabis/marijuana, sedative, and party drugs. Illustrative case histories will help the reader to understand the phenomenology and assessment of SUDs. Lastly, thepresentation of empirically-based therapeutic approaches will help the clinician to decide with treatment will match his/her patient's needs.

From a leading addiction specialist, this highly practical book explores what works in treating adolescents. Oscar G. Bukstein answers the clinician's vital question: "What do I do now?" He describes best practices for enhancing youths' motivation for change, teaching a variety of recovery skills, and implementing parent management training and parent-adolescent problem solving. The book covers ways to foster a prosocial peer network and to address mental health problems that co-occur with substance use disorders (SUDs). Clinicians can combine the strategies into an integrated approach or pick and choose depending on the needs of individual clients. Reproducible handouts and worksheets can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

Drug and alcohol addiction are critical social problems in the United States. Drug and alcohol abuse are powerful facilitators of health and economic disparities, making recovery and re-entry into the community difficult. Alcohol and drug abuse/addiction are among the costliest of health problems, totaling approximately $428 billion annually. A range of services have been developed to address the problem of substance dependence, including inpatient services, outpatient services, and recovery housing. However, only about 11% of those with substance addictions reach any type of substance abuse treatment, and those that are treated evidence high rates of relapse. Thus, it is critical to understand the mechanisms by which individuals are successful, and sustain abstinence after receiving treatment and aftercare. This book provides a collection of research that explores alternative models, aftercare programs, employment services, trauma issues that affect recovery, gender-specific, and culturally modified treatment and aftercare programs. Each chapter is an individual study that addresses key unanswered questions in substance abuse and recovery research. Furthermore, the editors and authors identify potentially important, understudied topics for further research and formulate public policy recommendations. This is a must read for addiction researchers, academics, students, and individuals interested in learning about the dangers of substance abuse.

Mental health and substance use disorders are ubiquitous conditions that have an enormous impact on individuals and families, and often lead to social and financial burdens, and sometimes catastrophes. Current Controversies in Mental Health and Addictions: An Expert's Anthology is a compilation of book and movie reviews, opinion blogs, and online articles on mental health and addiction. This compelling anthology helps readers understand and apply specific and every day mental health problems and their solutions. The material is organized into sections that address topics such as substance use, abuse, and addiction; borderline personality disorder; depression and bipolar disorders; suicide; and recovery. The high-interest content includes selections on how people with mental illnesses can have lives of contribution and how to keep them from becoming violent; treatment choices for alcoholism and substance use disorders; mental health law; adverse childhood experiences; wartime and other post-traumatic stress disorders; biomarkers for depression; and more. Current Controversies in Mental Health and Addictions provides a wealth of valuable information and insight for mental health professionals and lay readers alike. Applicable to numerous disciplines and students at various points in their pre-professional education, the book is particularly well-suited to courses in psychology, social work, counseling, nursing, addiction, and pre-medicine.

The Twelve-Step Warrior I spent most of my young life searching; searching for a meaning to my existence. The problem was, I was searching in the wrong place. My search was conducted on the very edge of society among fellow outcasts, all of them looking for answers, all making the same mistakes, all looking in the wrong places. I wasn't going to find a life worth living among the thieves, fighters, gamblers and one-time somebodies that propped up the bars of the worst drinking holes I attended back then on a nightly basis. The people I was mixing with then had already given up on their search and I too had fallen into their fold. My existence had become a beggar's search for the next hit of alcohol. I didn't really care who bought it for me, but I needed it, I craved it and it consumed me. All my thoughts, even when I had achieved my goal and was standing looking longingly into a full glass, were on where the next drink would come from. I was at the jumping off point and had to find a way out of this dark existence. This is the story of how I found my way out of that darkness and into the light.

This revised and updated third edition is a highly practical guide to the steps that counselors can take on a day-to-day basis to help those who have problems with their use of alcohol. It is the key book recommended by most alcohol counseling courses in the UK, including the Scottish national alcohol counselors training scheme. This highly acclaimed text provides clear guidance for counselors and demonstrates the need to treat every client as an individual, attempting to understand and therefore enable the client to understand, what they are doing and why. The book has been thoroughly revised to take into account the current political, social and counseling context surrounding alcohol use. It now includes a wider range of case-studies and many new ideas which will help students and trainees develop the skills and strategies they need for working with their clients. Backed up with detailed case studies and useful resource material, the Third Edition of this bestselling text will continue to be invaluable for all practitioners, both those specializing in work with alcohol misusers and those who encounter problem drinkers in the context of a more general counseling practice.

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Colin Mathers who leads the Global Burden of Disease group in WHO has confirmed that, in the 2004 GBD, 13.1% of global Daily Adjusted Life Years are attributable to mental or neurological disorders. While the proportions vary very widely from about 10% in low income countries to over 25% in high income countries, it is clear that there is a need for understanding how to address this issue. This volume aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the public health principles of mental and neurological disorders. This vast range of health conditions affects people across the life course, from developmental disabilities in childhood, to schizophrenia and substance abuse in adults, and dementia in old age. Despite this diversity, they all share many features: they are mostly mediated through brain dysfunction or abnormalities, are often chronic in course, typically benefit from multi-component interventions, and are amongst the most neglected conditions in global health. The volume will bring together chapters from the Psychiatry, Neurology, Substance Abuse and Child Development sections of the Encyclopedia of Public Health. The volume will be the first comprehensive text on a public health approach to this diverse group of health conditions and has no obvious competitor.

Research increasingly suggests that addiction has a genetic and neurobiological basis, but efforts to translate research into effective clinical treatments and social policy needs to be informed by careful ethical analyses of the personal and social implications. Scientists and policy makers alike must consider possible unintended negative consequences of neuroscience research so that the promise of reducing the burden and incidence of addiction can be fully realized and new advances translated into clinically meaningful and effective treatments. This volume brings together leading addiction researchers and practitioners with neuroethicists and social scientists to specifically discuss the ethical, philosophical, legal and social implications of neuroscience research of addiction, as well as its translation into effective, economical and appropriate policy and treatments. Chapters explore the history of ideas about addiction, the neuroscience of drug use and addiction, prevention and treatment of addiction, the moral implications of addiction neuroscience, legal issues and human rights, research ethics, and public policy.

Alcoholics Anonymous has two million members worldwide; yet this fellowship remains a mystery to most people, and is even viewed by some as a cult or a religion. Written by an award-winning psychiatrist and educator in the treatment of alcohol and drug abuse, What Is Alcoholics Anonymous? provides the most in-depth overview to date of this popular and established yet poorly understood recovery movement. Author Dr. Marc Galanter integrates findings from the latest research in psychology, cultural history, and clinical science with a diverse range of first-person experiences with AA. The result is a thorough, objective, and accessible investigation into what AA is, how it works, and how the organization might be considered and used by both healthcare professionals and anyone affected by pursuit of recovery.

Neurobiology of Addiction highlights some of the most promising research areas of the rapidly expanding field of addiction. It will be useful as a practical tool for clinicians, research investigators, and trainees-both in addiction and in other illnesses with overlapping mechanisms-as well as an informative resource for non-technical readers who are interested in addiction or mental health policy. The editors have combined their areas of expertise to provide a unique perspective into the prevention and treatment of addictive disorders. Their approach addresses addiction in the broader context of behavioral processes and survival-related adaptations, focusing on its neurobiological precursors and drawing parallels between addictions and other recurrent or progressive psychiatric disorders. The book also emphasizes resilience, clinical contexts of addictive behavior, and treatment strategies that target its underlying neurobiological mechanisms.

Shooting Up: A Short History of Drugs and War examines how intoxicants have been put to the service of states, empires and their armies throughout history. Since the beginning of organized combat, armed forces have prescribed drugs to their members for two general purposes: to enhance performance during combat and to counter the trauma of killing and witnessing violence after it is over. Stimulants (e.g. alcohol, cocaine, and amphetamines) have been used to temporarily create better soldiers by that improving stamina, overcoming sleeplessness, eliminating fatigue, and increasing fighting spirit. Downers (e.g. alcohol, opiates, morphine, heroin, marijuana, barbiturates) have also been useful in dealing with the soldier's greatest enemy - shattered nerves. Kamienski's focuses on drugs "prescribed" by military authorities, but also documents the widespread unauthorised consumption by soldiers themselves. Combatants have always treated with various drugs and alcohol, mainly for recreational use and as a reward to themselves for enduring the constant tension of preparing for. Although not officially approved, such "self-medication" is often been quietly tolerated by commanders in so far as it did not affect combat effectiveness. This volume spans the history of combat from the use of opium, coca, and mushrooms in pre-modern warfare to the efforts of modern militaries, during the Cold War in particular, to design psychochemical offensive weapons that can be used to incapacitate rather than to kill the enemy. Along the way, Kamienski provides fascinating coverage of on the European adoption of hashish during Napolean's invasion of Egypt, opium use during the American Civil War, amphetamines in the Third Reich, and the use of narcotics to control child soldiers in the rebel militias of contemporary Africa.