Even as the popularity of videogames has skyrocketed, a dark cloud continues to hang over them. Many people who play games feel embarrassed to admit as much, and many who don't worry about the long-term effects of a medium often portrayed as dangerous and corruptive. Drawing on years of experience working directly with people who play games, clinical psychologist Alexander Kriss steers the discourse away from extreme and factually inaccurate claims around the role of games in addiction, violence and mental illness, instead focusing on the importance of understanding the unique relationship that forms between a game and its player. Through vivid psychotherapy case illustrations, autobiographical memoir, and a wide range of psychological theory and research, The Gaming Mind lays out an honest and humanistic vision of games, their potentials and risks, and how they can teach us more about who we are and who we could be.

Written by authors with extensive experience as practitioners and educators, this text serves as a straightforward resource for undergraduate and graduate students who have a goal of becoming counselors or therapists in the field of addiction. While many books on the subject follow a similar format (i.e., introduction, classification of drugs, theories of counseling, etc.), Addictions Counseling takes one client and follows her through the entire treatment experience-from referral and assessment, all the way through relapse prevention and discharge planning. In following her through the treatment journey, readers are introduced to theories and techniques for approaching each of the topics discussed. This book is a must-read for anybody interested in pursuing a career as an addiction specialist.

Sexual obsessions are a common symptom of OCD, but addressing them in treatment is uniquely challenging due to feelings of shame, prior misdiagnosis, and the covert nature of ritualizing behaviors. These complicating factors make it difficult for clients to disclose their symptoms and for clinicians to know how to approach treatment. Sexual Obsessions in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder provides clinicians with the information and guidance needed to help clients experiencing unwanted and intrusive thoughts of a sexual nature. Opening with background information on sexual obsessions and OCD, including assessment and differential diagnosis, Williams and Wetterneck then offer a complete, step-by-step manual describing treatment using a combination of empirically-supported CBT strategies, such as exposure and response prevention, cognitive therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy, as well as useful mindfulness techniques. Accompanying these practical, step-by-step instructions are educational handouts and diagrams for clients designed to promote learning. The book concludes with a discussion of relationship issues that commonly result from sexually-themed OCD, and how therapists can tackle these problems. Sexual Obsessions in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is an essential resource for clinicians who treat OCD, as well as students and trainees from across the mental health professions.

Alcohol Use Disorders takes a life-span/developmental approach to understanding the etiologic processes that heighten risk or resilience factors for alcohol use disorders (AUD). Contemporary understanding benefits from thirty years of longitudinal studies that were specifically designed to assess pre-onset origins, predictors of onset, and outcomes through early adulthood. The overriding theme of the volume is that the origins and expression of AUD are best understood within the context of developmental processes and dynamic systems organization and change. Such dynamic systems give rise to diverse pathways that are characterized by multi-finality and equi-finality due to the exchanges among genes, epigenetic processes, and the complexities of the individual organism's experiential world. For some individuals, these dynamic processes lead to risk cumulative or cascade effects that embody adverse childhood experiences that exacerbate risk, predict early onset drinking (or smoking), and are highly likely to lead to AUD during the transitions to adolescence and emerging adulthood. In other cases, protective factors within or outside of the individual's immediate family enable embodiment of normative stress regulatory systems and neural networks that support resilience and prevention of AUD and other addictive behaviors.

Personal trainer and sports nutritionist, Tom Shanahan, outlines a programme of action to energise, reboot and strengthen one's recovery, especially those who feel they may have hit a wall in their programme. SPIRITUAL ADRENALINE imparts the importance of a holistic approach to fitness, good eating habits and connection to a personal higher power in order to optimise the guiding principles of the Twelve Steps and reinforce relapse prevention.

Whether drinking Red Bull, relieving chronic pain with oxycodone, or experimenting with Ecstasy, Americans participate in a culture of self-medication, using psychoactive substances to enhance or manage our moods. A "drug-free America" seems to be a fantasyland that most people don't want to inhabit. High: Drugs, Desire, and a Nation of Users asks fundamental questions about US drug policies and social norms. Why do we endorse the use of some drugs and criminalize others? Why do we accept the necessity of a doctor-prescribed opiate but not the same thing bought off the street? This divided approach shapes public policy, the justice system, research, social services, and health care. And despite the decades-old war on drugs, drug use remains relatively unchanged. Ingrid Walker speaks to the silencing effects of both criminalization and medicalization, incorporating first-person narratives to show a wide variety of user experiences with drugs. By challenging current thinking about drugs and users, Walker calls for a next wave of drug policy reform in the United States, beginning with recognizing the full spectrum of drug use practices.

For people with alcohol excess and liver disease, successful management must be two-fold with management of both their psychological/physical addiction to alcohol and their liver disease. Alcohol Abuse and liver disease, with its joint focus on hepatology and psychiatry, provides both hepatologists and psychiatrists of all levels with a practical, concise and didactic guide to the investigation and clinical management of those with alcohol-related problems. Edited by a practicing hepatologist in the UK and a practising specialist in psychiatry/substance abuse in the US, it covers areas such as: Risk factors for alcoholic liver disease Interaction of alcohol with other co-morbidities Clinical assessment of alcohol intake Detoxification and management of withdrawal Psychotherapeutic and pharmaceutical interventions Treatment of liver disease Key points, management diagrams and high-quality images are all be supported by the very latest in clinical guidelines from the major hepatology and psychiatry societies such as the APA, EPA, AASLD and EASL. With increasing emphasis on multi-disciplinary speciality care in this area, this is the ideal tool to consult in order to provide the best care possible care for what are very challenging patients to manage.

The problem of addiction is one of the major challenges and controversies confronting medicine and society. It also poses important and complex philosophical and scientific problems. What is addiction? Why does it occur? And how should we respond to it, as individuals and as a society? The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy and Science of Addiction is an outstanding reference source to the key topics, problems and debates in this exciting subject. It spans several disciplines and is the first collection of its kind. Organised into three clear parts, forty-five chapters by a team of international contributors examine key areas, including: the meaning of addiction to individuals conceptions of addiction varieties and taxonomies of addiction methods and models of addiction evolution and addiction history, sociology and anthropology population distribution and epidemiology developmental processes vulnerabilities and resilience psychological and neural mechanisms prevention, treatment and spontaneous recovery public health and the ethics of care social justice, law and policy. Essential reading for students and researchers in addiction research and in philosophy, particularly philosophy of mind and psychology and ethics, The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy and Science of Addiction will also be of great interest to those in related fields, such as medicine, mental health, social work, and social policy.

Living mindfully, people in recovery can learn skills that allow them to be the people they want to be. Instead of being prisoners of harmful habits, they can consciously create healthy behaviour in support of their recovery and live their lives free from active addiction. Former Buddhist monk, John Bruna, outlines the seven skills of living mindfully in recovery - values, attention, wisdom, equanimity, compassion, loving-kindness and action - utilising lessons, meditations, reflections and other daily practices.

Most people who die by suicide see a clinician prior to taking their lives. Therefore, one of the most difficult determinations clinicians must be able to make is whether any given patient is at risk for suicide in the immediate future. The Suicidal Crisis, Clinical Guide to the Assessment of Imminent Suicide Risk, is the first book written specifically to help clinicians evaluate the risk of such imminent suicidal behavior. The Suicidal Crisis is an essential work for every mental health professional and for anyone who would like to have a framework for understanding suicide. Written by master clinician Dr. Igor Galynker, the book presents methods for a systematic and comprehensive assessment of short-term suicide risk and for conducting risk assessment interviews in different settings. Dr. Galynker describes suicide as an attempt of a vulnerable individual to escape an unbearable life situation, which is perceived as both intolerable and inescapable. What sets the Suicidal Crisis apart from the other books of its kind is its sharp focus on those at the highest risk. It presents a wealth of clinical material within the easy-to-understand and intuitive framework of the Narrative-Crisis model of suicidal behavior. The book contains sixty individual case studies of actual suicidal individuals and their interviews, detailed instructions on how to conduct such interviews, and risk assessment test cases with answer keys. A unique feature of the book, not found in any other book on suicide, is a discussion of how clinicians' emotional responses to acutely suicidal individuals may help identify those at highest risk. In this timely, thorough, and well-written monograph, Dr. Galynker provides a method for understanding the suicidal process and of identifying those at the highest risk for taking their lives. Any clinician who works with suicidal individuals-and anybody who knows someone who has considered suicide-will find the book an essential and illuminating read.

Effectively treat men suffering from addiction and involved in the criminal justice system In the freshly updated second edition of Helping Men Recover: A Program for Treating Addiction, CJS Workbook, a team of dedicated practitioners delivers supplementary resources and tools designed to apply the principles and concepts discussed in the companion Helping Men Recover: A Program for Treating Addiction. The included materials were specifically created to assist men involved in the criminal justice system and can help to treat men at any stage of the criminal process. The Workbook addresses every facet of addiction, from the self to relationships, sexuality, and spirituality, and offers men the ability to process and record the therapeutic experience.

The fifth installment of Addiction Reviews provides refereed reviews on learning theory and addition, deep brain stimulation and addiction, novel therapeutic approaches to addiction, developmental studies of reward, genetics and brain imaging in addiction, genetics of alcoholism and its comorbidities, in addition to other state-of-the art topics in addiction science.

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"Addiction Research Methods" is a comprehensive handbook for health professionals, policy-makers and researchers working and training in the field of addiction.

The book provides a clear, comprehensive and practical guide to research design, methods and analysis within the context of the field of alcohol and other drugs. The reader is introduced to fundamental principles and key issues; and is orientated to available sources of information and key literature.

As a clinician or researcher in the field of mental health or addictions, this book will offer you powerful insight into how acceptance and mindfulness-based interventions are being successfully used to treat a variety of addictive behaviors, ranging from substance abuse to gambling addiction.

Edited by Steven C. Hayes, a founder of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and a world renowned authority on mindfulness-based therapy, "Mindfulness and Acceptance for Addictive Behaviors "features chapters by leading substance abuse and addiction researchers. Each article illuminates the mindfulness and acceptance-based treatments that work best for particular addictive behaviors, reviews empirical data, and discusses future directions for research and treatment applications. An essential resource for mental health and addictions professionals, researchers, and students interested in the most effective treatments for addiction, this book will dramatically impact the way addictions of all kinds are viewed and addressed in therapy.

In this book, you will learn to apply mindfulness and acceptance to help patients with: Alcoholism Substance abuse Smoking cessation Gambling addiction Pornography addiction Binge eating Detoxification Self-stigma and shameThe Mindfulness and Acceptance Practica Series
As mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies gain momentum in the field of mental health, it is increasingly important for professionals to understand the full range of their applications. To keep up with the growing demand for authoritative resources on these treatments, "The Mindfulness and Acceptance Practica Series" was created. These edited books cover a range of evidence-based treatments, such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), compassion-focused therapy (CFT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) therapy. Incorporating new research in the field of psychology, these books are powerful tools for mental health clinicians, researchers, advanced students, and anyone interested in the growth of mindfulness and acceptance strategies.

Female problem gambling is a seriously underexplored area. This is the first book to bring together international experts on the subject.

After decades of the American "war on drugs" and relentless prison expansion, political officials are finally challenging mass incarceration. Many point to an apparently promising solution to reduce the prison population: addiction treatment. In Addicted to Rehab, Bard College sociologist Allison McKim gives an in-depth and innovative ethnographic account of two such rehab programs for women, one located in the criminal justice system and one located in the private healthcare system-two very different ways of defining and treating addiction. McKim's book shows how addiction rehab reflects the race, class, and gender politics of the punitive turn. As a result, addiction has become a racialized category that has reorganized the link between punishment and welfare provision. While reformers hope that treatment will offer an alternative to punishment and help women, McKim argues that the framework of addiction further stigmatizes criminalized women and undermines our capacity to challenge gendered subordination. Her study ultimately reveals a two-tiered system, bifurcated by race and class.

Acute trauma and addictive disorders are often a result of psychological injuries experienced as a child while typically producing long-term and harmful generational consequences on loved ones and other family members. Claudia Black presents a portrait of a broken family system, exploring how addiction and trauma develop in families, their damaging repetition and offers a roadmap for healing.

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.

With an estimated 20 million people addicted to drugs or alcohol, America is in the grip of an unrivaled epidemic. Overcoming Addition reveals how seemingly contradictory treatment theories must come together to understand and end dangerous substance abuse. Addiction treatment has become a billion-dollar industry based on innumerable clinical and psychological perspectives. Zealous clinicians and researchers have gathered around the theories, proclaiming each as the sole truth and excluding alternate views. In this book, leading bioethicist Gregory Pence demystifies seven foundational theories of addiction and addiction treatment. From Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous to methadone clinics and brain chemistry studies, each method holds foundation beliefs about human nature, free will, and biology. Understanding the diversity of these theories allows us to build a framework for more effective treatment for all addiction types. For individuals suffering from addiction, their families, and those who devote their lives to ending addiction's grasp on our society, this book offers a fresh perspective and a framework for long-term solutions.

Now a Netflix Original Series! The Breakfast Club meets Leah on the Offbeat in this story of female friendships that break all the rules. The Shoplifters Anonymous meetings that sixteen-year-old Moe is forced to attend are usually punctuated by the snores of an old man and the whining of the world's unhappiest housewife. Until the day that Tabitha Foster and Elodie Shaw walk in. Tabitha has just about everything she wants: money, friends, popularity, a hot boyfriend who worships her...and clearly a yen for stealing. So does Elodie, who, despite her goodie-two-shoes attitude pretty much has "klepto" written across her forehead in indelible marker. But both of them are nothing compared to Moe, a bad girl with an even worse reputation. Tabitha, Elodie, and Moe: a beauty queen, a wallflower, and a burnout - a more unlikely trio high school has rarely seen. And yet, when Tabitha challenges them to a steal-off, so begins a strange alliance linked by the thrill of stealing and the reasons that spawn it. Hollywood screenwriter Kirsten Smith tells this story from multiple perspectives with humour and warmth as three very different girls who are supposed to be learning the steps to recovery end up learning the rules of friendship

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are common among many patients with medical and psychiatric disorders. Professionals from all medical and behavioral health disciplines must address SUDs to provide optimal care to patients. Failure to do so may contribute to morbidity and mortality in cases of more severe substance dependence.
This new volume in the Pittsburgh Pocket Psychiatry series provides a comprehensive overview of substance use disorders for medical students and psychiatric residents. It is aimed particularly at increasing student's knowledge and skills in addressing SUDs. The handy pocket-sized book focuses on those substances used, abused and leading to addiction and the clinical implications of SUDs. Epidemiology, etiology, classifications of SUDs, screening and assessment, and pharmacotherapy and psychosocial interventions are discussed alongside case histories illustrating the material covered. Questions for the reader stimulate thinking about specific cases and how the medical student or resident can help patients with SUDs.
Additional chapters focus on problems caused or worsened by SUDs such as Hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS and co-occurring psychiatric disorders. Relapse and recovery are also explored given many patients with substance dependence relapse. Adolescents with SUDs, prevention and harm reduction interventions are also reviewed.
The concept of rom SUDs is incorporated in many of the chapters. Medical, psychological, family and cultural aspects of addiction and recovery are addressed, providing the reader with a broad framework for understanding and helping patients with SUDs, as well as their families. An extensive list of online resources is provided that includes mutual support programs as well as professionals and organizations who offer helpful materials and programs for patients with SUDs.
Contributing authors represent medicine, psychiatry, social work, psychology in diverse treatment settings. Many authors are also researchers and all are educators involved in mentoring medical students, residents, fellows and other health care professionals.

Helping beginning and experienced therapists cope with the myriad challenges of working in agencies, clinics, hospitals, and private practice, this book distills the leading theories and best practices in the field. The authors provide a clear approach to engaging diverse clients and building rapport; interweaving evidence-based techniques to meet therapeutic goals; and intervening effectively with individuals, families, groups, and larger systems. Practitioners will find tools for addressing the needs of their clients while caring for themselves and avoiding burnout; students will find a clear-headed framework for making use of the variety of approaches available in mental health practice.