The last three decades have seen an explosion of social, psychological and clinical research to identify effective strategies to prevent and treat alcohol-related problems. This “Essential Handbook” contains an updated selection of reviews of “what works” drawn from the critically acclaimed International Handbook of Alcohol Dependence and Problems. Selected specifically for health and other professionals, who need to provide effective responses in their work, these authoritative, science-based reviews are a distillation of the more practical elements, designed to save time for the busy practitioner.

Focusing on alcohol dependence and alcohol-related problems in general, as well as their causes, treatment and prevention, this handbook also addresses the basic mechanisms of alcohol and its effects on human physiology and behaviour.

The Australian Guidelines for the Treatment of Alcohol Problems have been periodically developed over the past 25 years. In 1993, the first version of these guidelines, titled: ‘An outline for the management of alcohol problems: Quality assurance in the treatment of drug dependence project’ was published (Mattick & Jarvis 1993). The Australian Government commissioned an update a decade later (Shand et al. 2003) and a further edition in 2009 to integrate the Guidelines with the Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol (National Health and Medical Research Council, NHMRC 2009; Haber et al., 2009). The present version of the Guidelines was also commissioned by the Commonwealth of Australia to remain current and integrated with the updated NHMRC consumption guidelines (2020). In order to ensure that guidelines remain relevant, the next set of guidelines should be updated in 2025, consistent with NHMRC recommendation that guidelines be updated every five years. These guidelines aim to provide up-to-date, evidence-based information to clinicians on available treatments for people with alcohol problems and are largely directed towards individual clinicians in practice, such as primary care physicians (general practitioners, nursing staff), specialist medical practitioners, psychologists and other counsellors, and other health professionals. Some chapters highlight service or system level issues that impact on clinicians and their patients. These include recommendations concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, culturally and linguistically diverse groups, stigma, and discrimination. Elsewhere, organisation capacity is implied, such as medical resources for withdrawal management where recommendations indicate use of medications. As all forms of treatment will not be readily available or suitable for all populations or settings, these guidelines may require interpretation and adaptation.

Co-existing mental health and drug and alcohol problems occur frequently in primary care and clinical settings. Despite this, health professionals rarely receive training in how to detect, assess and formulate interventions for co-existing problems and few clinical guidelines exist. This Handbook provides an exciting and highly useful addition to this area. Leading clinicians from the UK, the US and Australia provide practical descriptions of assessments and interventions for co-existing problems. These will enable professionals working with co-existing problems to understand best practice and ensure that people with co-existing problems receive optimal treatment. A range of overarching approaches are covered, including: • working within a cognitive behavioural framework; • provision of consultation-liaison services, training and supervision; • individual, group and family interventions; and • working with rurally isolated populations. The contributors also provide detailed descriptions of assessments and treatments for a range of disorders when accompanied by drug and alcohol problems, including anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and learning difficulties. The Clinical Handbook of Co-existing Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Problems will enhance clinicians’ confidence in working with people with co-existing problems. It will prove a valuable resource for all psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors, social workers and all those working in both primary and secondary care health settings.

Counselling for Alcohol Problems, third edition, is a practical and bestselling guide to working with people who have problems with their use of alcohol. It is the key book recommended by most alcohol counselling courses in the UK, including the Scottish national alcohol counsellors training scheme. The author provides clear guidance for counsellors and demonstrates the need to treat every client as an individual, attempting to understand and therefore enable the client to understand, what they are doing and why. This new edition includes: - New content on the current political, social and counselling context surrounding alcohol use - A wider range of case-studies - New ideas that help students and trainees develop the skills and strategies they need for working with their clients - Further guidance for generic or non-alcohol counsellors who face alcohol problems with their clients. This third edition is an invaluable resource for practitioners, both those specialising in work with alcohol misusers and those who encounter problem drinkers in the context of a more general counselling practice.

If you are looking for an incisive and highly readable account of current research and debates in the field of drugs and substance misuse, then this is the book for you. Written by a leading researcher and commentator, the A-Z of Substance Misuse and Drug Addiction succinctly encapsulates the key ideas in policy and practice which dominate the addictions field. Expertly organised into just over 70 entries, the book offers numerous cross-references to help you steer a path between connecting ideas. An impressive range of contemporary references accompany the entries, enabling you to dig deeper into the extensive multidisciplinary literature. International in scope and covering legal and illegal drugs, this is an ideal gateway text and companion for students, trainees, practitioners and researchers studying or working in the substance misuse and addictions fields.

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