Broadening The Base Of Treatment For Alcohol Problems

In this congressionally mandated study, an expert committee of the Institute of Medicine takes a close look at where treatment for people with alcohol problems seems to be headed, and provides its best advice on how to get there. Careful consideration is given to how the creative growth of treatment can best be encouraged while keeping costs within reasonable limits. Particular attention is devoted to the importance of developing therapeutic approaches that are sensitive to the special needs of the many diverse groups represented among those who have developed problems related to their use of "man's oldest friend and oldest enemy." This book is the most comprehensive examination of alcohol treatment to date.

The last three decades have seen an explosion of social, psychological and clinical research to identify effective strategies to prevent and treat alcohol-related problems. This “Essential Handbook” contains an updated selection of reviews of “what works”, drawn from the critically acclaimed International Handbook of Alcohol Dependence and Problems. Selected specifically for health and other professionals, who need to provide effective responses in their work, these authoritative, science-based reviews are a distillation of the more practical elements, designed to save time for the busy practitioner. Contributors Jeff Allison, UK Britt K. Anderson, USA Kevin Boots, Australia Janice M. Brown, USA Russell Carvolth, Australia Sally Casswell, NZ Jonathan Chick, UK Chad Emrick, USA Paul Gruenewald, USA Nick Heather, UK Linda Hill, NZ Harold, D. Holder , USA Ross Homel, Australia David Kavanagh, Australia Harald K.-H. Klingemann, Switzerland. G. Alan Marlatt, USA Nyanda McBride, Australia Gillian McIlwain, Australia James A. McKnight, USA Richard Midford, Australia Kim T. Mueser, USA Esa Österberg, Finland George A.Parks, USA Duncan Raistrick, UK Stephen Rollnick, UK Harvey Skinner, Canada Tim Stockwell, Australia Andrew J. Treno, USA Robert B. Voas, USA Malissa Yang, Canada

Alcohol Problems in the United States: Twenty Years of Treatment Perspective presents an overview of trends in the treatment of alcohol problems over a 20-year period from three vantage points: broader treatment perspectives, experienced views from the field, and personal perspectives. Some of the field's foremost experts, including Alcoholics Anonymous historian Dr. Ernest Kurtz and Dr. Robert Sparks, who chaired the committee that authored the Institute of Medicine’s highly influential study, “Broadening the Base of Treatment for Alcohol Problems,” provide practical information on the vital treatment issues you deal with every day. By detailing treatment histories of the recent past, contributors offer a look at likely future trends that will help keep your treatment methods up to date. Treatment topics addressed in Alcohol Problems in the United States: Twenty Years of Treatment Perspective include: alcoholism as a disease alcohol dependence and mental illness the role of spirituality the growth and decline of treatment programs at the Mayo Clinic and Timberlawn Hospital and the special treatment needs of women, youths, African Americans, Native Americans, the Latino community, and the incarcerated. Alcohol Problems in the United States: Twenty Years of Treatment Perspective chronicles the story of alcohol treatment from historical and personal perspectives, offering the opportunity to anticipate future trends in the many challenges associated with alcohol problems. The book is an essential resource for professional alcoholism counselors, social workers, psychologists, physicians, clergy, nurses, employee assistance professionals, and anyone who provides care and service to those struggling with alcohol.

This book is a practical guide for nurses and doctors in primary care about preventing and managing alcohol problems. It provides information on how to determine how much patients drink, how to assess the social, psychological and physical harm the alcohol may be causing, and what practical and effective advice to offer on how to stop drinking.

The Australian Guidelines for the Treatment of Alcohol Problems have been periodically developed over the past 25 years. In 1993, the first version of these guidelines, titled: ‘An outline for the management of alcohol problems: Quality assurance in the treatment of drug dependence project’ was published (Mattick & Jarvis 1993). The Australian Government commissioned an update a decade later (Shand et al. 2003) and a further edition in 2009 to integrate the Guidelines with the Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol (National Health and Medical Research Council, NHMRC 2009; Haber et al., 2009). The present version of the Guidelines was also commissioned by the Commonwealth of Australia to remain current and integrated with the updated NHMRC consumption guidelines (2020). In order to ensure that guidelines remain relevant, the next set of guidelines should be updated in 2025, consistent with NHMRC recommendation that guidelines be updated every five years. These guidelines aim to provide up-to-date, evidence-based information to clinicians on available treatments for people with alcohol problems and are largely directed towards individual clinicians in practice, such as primary care physicians (general practitioners, nursing staff), specialist medical practitioners, psychologists and other counsellors, and other health professionals. Some chapters highlight service or system level issues that impact on clinicians and their patients. These include recommendations concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, culturally and linguistically diverse groups, stigma, and discrimination. Elsewhere, organisation capacity is implied, such as medical resources for withdrawal management where recommendations indicate use of medications. As all forms of treatment will not be readily available or suitable for all populations or settings, these guidelines may require interpretation and adaptation.

As states have moved from merely tolerating gambling to running their own games, as communities have increasingly turned to gambling for an economic boost, important questions arise. Has the new age of gambling increased the proportion of pathological or problem gamblers in the U.S. population? Where is the threshold between "social betting" and pathology? Is there a real threat to our families, communities, and the larger society? Pathological Gambling explores America's experience of gambling, examining: The diverse and frequently controversial issues surrounding the definition of pathological gambling. Its co-occurrence with disorders such as alcoholism, drug abuse, and depression. Its social characteristics and economic consequences, both good and bad, for communities. The role of video gaming, Internet gambling, and other technologies in the development of gambling problems. Treatment approaches and their effectiveness, from Gambler's Anonymous to cognitive therapy to pharmacology. This book provides the most up-to-date information available on the prevalence of pathological and problem gambling in the United States, including a look at populations that may have a particular vulnerability to gambling: women, adolescents, and minority populations. Its describes the effects of problem gambling on families, friendships, employment, finances, and propensity to crime. How do pathological gamblers perceive and misperceive randomness and chance? What are the causal pathways to pathological gambling? What do genetics, brain imaging, and other studies tell us about the biology of gambling? Is there a bit of sensation-seeking in all of us? Who needs treatment? What do we know about the effectiveness of different policies for dealing with pathological gambling? The book reviews the available facts and frames the intriguing questions yet to be answered. Pathological Gambling will be the odds-on favorite for anyone interested in gambling in America: policymakers, public officials, economics and social researchers, treatment professionals, and concerned gamblers and their families.