Synopsis

Cognitive therapy offers a well-documented and cost-effective psychosocial treatment model for working with substance abuse disorders. Comprehensive and accessible, this volume clearly details the cognitive model of substance abuse, the specifics of case formulation, management of the therapeutic relationship, and the structure of the therapy sessions. It discusses how to educate patients in the treatment model and procedures and manage their cravings and urges for drugs and alcohol. Specific cognitive and behavioral strategies and techniques are described in detail, as is the management of acute crises and chronic problems in patients' lives. Methods for understanding and working with such patients who present concomitant problems of depression, anxiety, low frustration tolerance, anger, and personality disorders are spelled out in detail. Also addressed are such significant issues as the prevention and management of relapse.

Marcella McGuire

This book intends to provide a centralized source for therapy, techniques, and vignettes of cognitive therapy with substance abuse patients. The stated purpose is to provide a detailed set of methods that can be of immediate use to therapists and counselors regardless of experience with cognitive therapy. Although the stated target audience is quite general, the most appropriate audience is students of psychology, social work, or psychiatric nursing with the particular focus of comparative theory analysis. Experienced clinicians, knowledgeable about the scope of alcoholism, might find some of the techniques useful during specific stages of the process of recovery. This book contains no color, but the black-and-white illustrations are of good quality and sufficient quantity. The chapter organization is a plus. This is a well-developed, useful book, with enlightened text that describes the effect of stigma for both patient and therapist and that provides helpful techniques.

Biography

Aaron T. Beck, MD, is University Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and the founder of cognitive therapy. He has published more than 20 books and over 540 articles in professional and scientific journals. Dr. Beck is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award, the American Psychological Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the American Psychiatric Association Distinguished Service Award, the Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Award for Research in Neuropsychiatry, and the Institute of Medicine's Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health and Gustav O. Lienhard Award. He is President of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Honorary President of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.