Promoting Self-Change from Addictive Behaviors: Practical Implications for Policy, Prevention, and Treatment Book

Many are addicted. Few are treated. Yet many who are not treated recover. Promoting Self-Change from Addictive Behaviors examines natural recovery as a clinical phenomenon, a field of inquiry, and a vital component of therapy. It also brings clinicians and counselors to a new understanding of addiction and recovery.

One of the few books on the topic, this updated edition offers alternatives to disease models of addiction by exploring personal pathways to recovery. Focusing on alcohol and drug problems, it provides a literature review of 40 years of studies on self-change with particular emphasis on the current decade and methodological issues (starting with how much or how little treatment constitutes “treatment”). The 24 experts keep the coverage consistently readable, and dozens of brief narratives from individuals who have successfully recovered from an addictive behavior without formal help lend valuable personal perspectives.

More of the book’s key features: Core factors in self-change, from cognitive processes to social issues; Case examples of natural recovery from smoking, binge eating, problem gambling, and criminal behavior; Redefining the role of treatment in changing addictive behaviors; Cross-cultural, community, and prevention perspectives on promoting self-change; “Self-change toolbox” chapter offering assessment tools, recovery strategies, web links, and other online resources.

With Promoting Self-Change from Addictive Behaviors, health care professionals and researchers (from psychologists and social workers to nurses, sociologists, and physicians) can find more effective methods to fit client needs, and develop new insights into the recovery process. Public health workers and policymakers will also find informative strategies for tapping this rich therapeutic resource.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Gary B Kaniuk, Psy.D.(Cermak Health Services)
Description:This discussion of how individuals recover from addictive behaviors using self-change strategies delves into what actually constitutes "treatment," and how addicted people have recovered on their own without a formal program.
Purpose:According to the editors, this book "examines natural recovery as a clinical phenomenon, a field of inquiry, and a vital component of therapy. It also brings clinicians and counselors to a new understanding of addiction and recovery." In the foreword, Howard J. Shaffer, Harvard Medical School, notes that the earlier book (Promoting Self-Change from Problem Substance Abuse (Springer, 2001)) was a landmark in the field, "and this book updates, integrates, and solidifies the best science on this topic.
Audience:It is intended for use as a reference by researchers, healthcare practitioners, public health specialists, and alcohol and drug policy makers. The editors and contributors represent institutions of higher learning and addiction centers from countries around the world, including the U.S., Sweden, Germany, Canada, Poland, and Spain.
Features:After chapters presenting an overview and a review of the literature, the book ends with a "Self-Change Toolbox," which provides information regarding assessment instruments and relevant websites. Throughout the book there are excerpts from those who have recovered using self-change methods, a powerful addition. Interesting tables and figures also enhance the presentation. One of the editors, Linda Carter Sobell, notes: "If substance use problems are viewed as lying along a continuum ranging from no problems to mild problems to severe problems, rather than as dichotomous (i.e. alcoholic versus not alcoholic, drug addict versus not drug addict) it has profound implications for how one views and treats such individuals. One implication is that there are multiple pathways to recovery, including self-change, a pathway that has largely been ignored by the addiction field.
Assessment:This excellent book highlights an approach that is not talked about much in the addictions field. Given that there are many people struggling with addiction, it is important to learn different ways of changing and overcoming. This book provides just that.