Treating Individuals with Addictive Disorders

Book excerpt: Integrating client stories, research and evidence-based strategies, this Workbook offers educational information, clinical tools and coping techniques to assist addiction patients on the journey toward recovery. Chapters include psycho-educational information on the science behind addiction and examine how patients engaging in resilience behaviors can alter brain functions. A set of three appendices then evaluates what "works" for the treatment of individuals with addictive disorders including ways to engage patients in the treatment process and ways to assess residential treatment programs. Lastly, a glossary of the "language of recovery" terms provides patients and their family members with the guidelines to monitor treatment gains, support their journey of recovery and bolster their resilience. Healthcare providers and those suffering from addictive disorders alike will benefit from the approachable discussion of the science and history behind addiction, the personal case-studies and the patient-friendly set of coping toolbox-activities designed to develop lasting behavioral changes.