Product Description

Known for clarity, accessibility, and practicality, this widely-used book thoroughly examines substance abuse in the population, addressing both ways to measure the problem and how to treat individuals and families who seek assistance. It educates prospective clinicians and counselors by guiding them, step-by-step, through the process of working with substance-abuse clients. Chapter content builds in sequence; however, each chapter can be taken as a stand-alone source of valuable information. Individual chapters on special populations add substantial depth to the text's treatment of its subject.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #161703 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 408 pages

From the Back Cover
This book provides information regarding the enormity of substance abuse problems in the population, how to assess the problems, and how to treat individuals and families who seek assistance. It educates beginning clinicians and counselors about substance abuse by guiding them through the process of working with substance-abuse clients. Written in an understandable, and easy-to-grasp manner, it covers the basics of substance use and abuse—Terminology, physiology, psychokinetics, and psychodynamics. Case histories are used in selected chapters to help readers integrate the various approaches by offering a sample of the types of issues presented when working with this population. An emphasis on special populations includes minority populations, women, elderly, special needs groups, and children/youth. For substance abuse counselors seeking information on the stages of counseling—from assessment and diagnosis through relapse prevention.

About the Author

Patricia W. Stevens, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of the Leadership and Secondary Education Department at Morehead State University in Kentucky. As a Counselor Educator, she has more than 15 years of experience in training counselors for school and agency settings. She is the past president of the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors and a Clinical Member and Approved Supervisor with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. Dr. Stevens is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Supervisor, and a National Certified Counselor. She is also a Fulbright Scholar and has received awards for teaching, research, and service as well as the IAMFC Mentoring Award. Dr. Stevens has written and presented extensively at the local, regional, national, and international levels in the areas of substance abuse, gender issues in training and learning, and ethical and legal issues in counseling.

Robert L. Smith, Ph.D., is Professor, Chair of the Counseling and Educational Psychology Department, and Doctoral Program Coordinator at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. As a licensed psychologist, he has worked as a private practitioner in addition to serving as the chair of three counselor education programs. He is the author of several books and more than 60 professional articles. He serves as the Executive Director, and was one of the founders of, the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors. He is also the founder of the National Credentialing Academy for Family Therapists. Dr. Smith authored the initial prospectus for this text and surveyed professionals concerning the need for this manuscript. His research interests include the efficacy of treatment modalities in individual psychotherapy, family therapy, and substance abuse counseling. He is a Diplomate-Fellow in Psychopharmacology with the International College of Prescribing Psychologists.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Substance abuse ranks as one of the major public health issues in today's society. Whether directly or indirectly, abuse is responsible for increased risk of violence in the home, suicide, mental illness, work-related accidents, and approximately half of all fatal automobile crashes. The use and abuse of substances span gender, socioeconomic levels, ethnicity, age, religion, profession, geography, and most dimensions of human existence and background. All people during their lifetimes will be touched by substance abuse or addiction; therefore, clinicians should be adequately trained to recognize the enormity of this problem, how to assess it, and ultimately how to treat individuals and families who come for assistance. Comprehensive programs at undergraduate and graduate levels are now in place in many settings, systematically studying substance abuse and subsequent treatment modalities.

This book was developed to be helpful for the general clinician as well as for students in beginning substance abuse classes and as an adjunct to, but not a replacement for, counseling theory and techniques books and coursework. Contributors to this edition have extensive backgrounds in substance abuse work as well as special knowledge in a particular segment of the field.

Space and time limitations prevent us from examining many of the issues in the field: public policy, working in a school setting, substance abuse in the workplace, HIV/AIDS and drug use, and a more in-depth study of the dualdiagnosis issues of mental illness and substance abuse.

The book takes the reader through the process of working with substanceabusing clients. Chapters build on each other, yet can be used independently as resources for information. Because it is impossible to portray a "real" client, case histories were developed and are used to offer a sense of practical application in each chapter. These case discussions provide a sample of the types of issues presented when working with this population.

The authors believe that knowing about all aspects of the treatment process are essential to assisting clients toward recovery. We have endeavored to structure the book in a manner that reflects treatment from first contact to recovery. We hope that you find this book to be an enjoyable and practical read as well as helpful in your practice.

Customer Reviews

a pretty good substance abuse textbook
I just finished a graduate level course on substance abuse counseling, and this was my text. It's a pretty good textbook, with a lot of good information. Most of it is pretty dry reading though. Like a lot of graduate level textbooks, it's written in a dry yet information-dense style, which makes information retention challenging.

The best chapters by far are 1 - histories of various drugs of abuse, and 2 - their effects on the body.

I wasn't very fond of the sample cases they had in the text. I would have preferred a lot of "real life" case studies, with the interventions that were attempted, alternative interventions suggested by other experts, and outcomes.

Excellent resource!
This book provides a wealth of information on substance and alcohol abuse. It is an interesting and informative book. It gives an overview of common substances and their affects on the body. Case studies provide practical application for concepts presented in the book. Must have for those working in the substance abuse field or those who just want to learn more.

Substance abuse Counseling: Theory and Practice
The book is well written. It provides the reader with an easy reading experience while still providing the necessary information about substance abuse. I definately recommend it for anyone who is looking to learn more about substance abuse.