This book is the first complete guide to implementing the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA), an empirically based, highly effective cognitive-behavioral program for treating alcohol problems. CRA acknowledges the powerful role of environmental contingencies in encouraging or discouraging drinking, and attempts to rearrange these contingencies so that a non-drinking lifestyle is more rewarding than a drinking one. Unique in its breadth, the approach utilizes social, recreational, familial, and vocational strategies to aid clients in the recovery process. This authoritative manual is a hands-on guide to applying these therapeutic procedures. The authors present a step-by-step guide to each component of the treatment plan, many of which have been shown to be effective forms of treatment in themselves. Topics include behavioral skills training, social and recreational counseling, marital therapy, motivational enhancement, job counseling, and relapse prevention. Each chapter provides detailed instructions for conducting a procedure, describes what difficulties to expect, and presents strategies for overcoming them. Sample dialogues between clients and therapists, annotated by the authors, further illuminate the treatment process. The book concludes with a chapter that both addresses the common mistakes made when implementing CRA, and emphasizes the flexibility and benefits of this total treatment plan. This book is an invaluable resource for a wide range of practitioners including psychologists, psychiatrists, substance abuse counselors, and social workers.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a major public health problem in the United States. The estimated 12-month and lifetime prevalence values for AUD are 13.9% and 29.1%, respectively, with approximately half of individuals with lifetime AUD having a severe disorder. AUD and its sequelae also account for significant excess mortality and cost the United States more than $200 billion annually. Despite its high prevalence and numerous negative consequences, AUD remains undertreated. In fact, fewer than 1 in 10 individuals in the United States with a 12-month diagnosis of AUD receive any treatment. Nevertheless, effective and evidence-based interventions are available, and treatment is associated with reductions in the risk of relapse and AUD-associated mortality. The American Psychiatric Association Practice Guideline for the Pharmacological Treatment of Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder seeks to reduce these substantial psychosocial and public health consequences of AUD for millions of affected individuals. The guideline focuses specifically on evidence-based pharmacological treatments for AUD in outpatient settings and includes additional information on assessment and treatment planning, which are an integral part of using pharmacotherapy to treat AUD. In addition to reviewing the available evidence on the use of AUD pharmacotherapy, the guideline offers clear, concise, and actionable recommendation statements, each of which is given a rating that reflects the level of confidence that potential benefits of an intervention outweigh potential harms. The guideline provides guidance on implementing these recommendations into clinical practice, with the goal of improving quality of care and treatment outcomes of AUD.

Section 1: Overview of Substance Use Problems and Self-Assessment Chapter 1: Introduction and Plan for Workbook Chapter 2: Recognizing Your Substance Use Problem Chapter 3: Recognizing Consequences of Your Substance Use Section 2: Change Issues and Strategies Chapter 4: Treatment Settings for Substance Use Problems Chapter 5: Stages of Change Ch 6: How to Use Therapy or Counseling Ch 7: Overview of Goal Planning Ch 8: Managing Cravings and Urges to Use Substances Ch 9: Managing Thoughts of Using Substances Ch 9: Dealing With Upsetting Emotions Ch 11: Refusing Offers to Use Substances Ch 12: Dealing With Family and Interpersonal Problems Ch 13: Building a Recovery Support System Ch 14: Self-Help Programs and Recovery Clubs Ch 15: Medications for Substance Use Problems Section 3: Relapse Prevention and Progress Measurement Ch 16: Relapse Prevention: Reducing the Risk of Relapse Ch 17: Relapse Management Ch 18 Strategies for Balanced Living Ch 19: Measuring Your Progress.

"The accomplished author team of Reid Hester and William Miller provides a comprehensive, results-based guide to alcohol treatment methods. Along with the contributions of notable practitioners if the field, this text serves as an aid to graduate students and professionals. The authors stress the necessity of choosing different treatment protocols based on scientific research and a client's needs. This text also offers an up-to-date review of the treatment outcome literature, which illustrates that there are a number of treatments that are consistently supported by research. The subsequent chapters provide mini-treatment manuals for approaches with the most scientific support, with sections on matching clients to particular treatment and descriptions on how to utilize each particular treatment plan. The authors have consolidated the information necessary to develop individualized, multidimensional treatment that can meet the needs of a diverse client population."--Back cover.

Written to serve the needs of clinicians handling emergency problems, and the student seeking an introduction to abused substances, the new fifth edition of this acclaimed text offers the most up-to-date clinically oriented guide available in the field of drug and alcohol abuse. This valuable work continues to set the standard for substance abuse research.