Untold stories of people with substance addictions who have recovered without formal treatment Despite the widely accepted view that formal treatment and twelve-step groups are essential for overcoming dependencies on alcohol and drugs, each year large numbers of former addicts quietly recover on their own, without any formal treatment or participation in self-help groups at all. Coming Clean explores the untold stories of untreated addicts who have recovered from a lifestyle of excessive and compulsive substance use without professional assistance. Based on 46 in-depth interviews with formerly addicted individuals, this controversial volume examines their reasons for avoiding treatment, the strategies they employed to break away from their dependencies, the circumstances that facilitated untreated recovery, and the implications of recovery without treatment for treatment professionals as well as for prevention and drug policy. Because of the pervasive belief that addiction is a disease requiring formal intervention, few training programs for physicians, social workers, psychologists, and other health professionals explore the phenomenon of natural recovery from addiction. Coming Clean offers insights for treatment professionals of how recovery without treatment can work and how candidates for this approach can be identified. A detailed appendix outlines specific strategies which will be of interest to addicted individuals themselves who wish to attempt the process of recovery without treatment.

In light of the conceptual imperialism of addiction and its associated biological reductionism, it is essential to keep alive critical perspectives on addiction that expose the historical and cultural interstices in which the disease concept of addiction is constructed. The readings selected for this anthology include both the classic foundational pieces and cutting-edge contemporary works that constitute critical addiction studies. The diverse array of human troubles now lumped under the umbrella of "addiction" are too painful for too many millions of people and affect too many public policy issues to be left to reductionist doctrines. The hegemony of the addiction-as-brain-disease paradigm must be unpacked and interrogated.

That is the purpose of this innovative text/reader by two of sociology s most distinguished addiction researchers and educators.

In light of the conceptual imperialism of addiction and its associated biological reductionism, it is essential to keep alive critical perspectives on addiction that expose the historical and cultural interstices in which the disease concept of addiction is constructed. The readings selected for this anthology include both the classic foundational pieces and cutting-edge contemporary works that constitute critical addiction studies. The diverse array of human troubles now lumped under the umbrella of "addiction" are too painful for too many millions of people and affect too many public policy issues to be left to reductionist doctrines. The hegemony of the addiction-as-brain-disease paradigm must be unpacked and interrogated.

That is the purpose of this innovative text/reader by two of sociology s most distinguished addiction researchers and educators.

This collection of original essays by leading and emerging scholars in the field examines the history, conditions, organization, and strategies of pro bono lawyering. Private Lawyers and the Public Interest: The Evolving Role of Pro Bono in the Legal Profession traces the rise and impact of the American Bar Association's campaign to hold lawyers accountable for a commitment to public service and to encourage public service within law schools. Combining empirical legal research with reflections by practitioners and theorists about the meaning and practice of pro bono legal work, this collection of essays interrogates the public service ideals that are inscribed within the legal profession and places these ideals within a broader social, economic, ideological, and normative context. Particular attention is paid to the factors that explain why lawyers engage in pro bono work and the ways in which their views of pro bono are mediated by the institutional context of their legal practice. The book also explores the concept of "public" in public service and compares pro bono as a means of delivering legal services with other mechanisms such as state funding. Collectively, these essays investigate the evolving role of pro bono in the legal profession and in law schools, the relationship between pro bono ideals and pro bono in practice, the way that pro bono is shaped by external forces beyond the individual practitioner, and the multi-faceted nature of legal professionalism as expressed through pro bono practice.

Millions of people enter or seriously consider entering alcohol or drug treatment each year. In their understandable state of urgency, most first-time treatment seekers and their loved ones may rush to the first treatment option they encounter. They are unlikely to be aware of why one form of intervention would be a good choice for their particular problem or why some approaches may, under some conditions, actually be harmful. Lacking reliable information, they are unable to make informed choices.

Recovery from Addiction offers a concise, reader-friendly guide for substance dependent persons, their families, and friends to help make sense of the full range of available treatment options.

Cloud and Granfield introduce readers to their options, from inpatient and outpatient programs and today's major pharmacological approaches to alternative therapies including strategies for using the Internet to access support meetings and approaches which do not call for life-long abstinence from the substances now causing the problem. They outline the underlying principles of each program, its pros and cons, and what a participant can expect when entering that type of treatment, guiding readers in choosing the approach likely to be best for them or their loved one. They also provide specific strategies for addicted individuals who wish to consider recovery on their own, without groups or treatment.

A vital resource for addicts wishing to recover and their loved ones, Recovery from Addiction is also a valuable tool for health care professionals, from social workers to school counselors, responsible for referring clients to drug and alcohol recovery programs.

Untold stories of people with substance addictions who have recovered without formal treatment Despite the widely accepted view that formal treatment and twelve-step groups are essential for overcoming dependencies on alcohol and drugs, each year large numbers of former addicts quietly recover on their own, without any formal treatment or participation in self-help groups at all. Coming Clean explores the untold stories of untreated addicts who have recovered from a lifestyle of excessive and compulsive substance use without professional assistance. Based on 46 in-depth interviews with formerly addicted individuals, this controversial volume examines their reasons for avoiding treatment, the strategies they employed to break away from their dependencies, the circumstances that facilitated untreated recovery, and the implications of recovery without treatment for treatment professionals as well as for prevention and drug policy. Because of the pervasive belief that addiction is a disease requiring formal intervention, few training programs for physicians, social workers, psychologists, and other health professionals explore the phenomenon of natural recovery from addiction. Coming Clean offers insights for treatment professionals of how recovery without treatment can work and how candidates for this approach can be identified. A detailed appendix outlines specific strategies which will be of interest to addicted individuals themselves who wish to attempt the process of recovery without treatment.

Millions of people enter or seriously consider entering alcohol or drug treatment each year. In their understandable state of urgency, most first-time treatment seekers and their loved ones may rush to the first treatment option they encounter. They are unlikely to be aware of why one form of intervention would be a good choice for their particular problem or why some approaches may, under some conditions, actually be harmful. Lacking reliable information, they are unable to make informed choices.

Recovery from Addiction offers a concise, reader-friendly guide for substance dependent persons, their families, and friends to help make sense of the full range of available treatment options.

Cloud and Granfield introduce readers to their options, from inpatient and outpatient programs and today's major pharmacological approaches to alternative therapies including strategies for using the Internet to access support meetings and approaches which do not call for life-long abstinence from the substances now causing the problem. They outline the underlying principles of each program, its pros and cons, and what a participant can expect when entering that type of treatment, guiding readers in choosing the approach likely to be best for them or their loved one. They also provide specific strategies for addicted individuals who wish to consider recovery on their own, without groups or treatment.

A vital resource for addicts wishing to recover and their loved ones, Recovery from Addiction is also a valuable tool for health care professionals, from social workers to school counselors, responsible for referring clients to drug and alcohol recovery programs.