Loosening the Grip: A Handbook of Alcohol Information » (9th Edition)

Jean Kinney, Lecturer in Community and Family Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School, was the Associate Director of the Alcohol Counselor Training Program at Dartmouth conducted between 1972 and 1978. That program was the impetus for this text. Upon completion of the Alcohol Counselor Training Program, she became involved with Project Cork, a program established to develop and implement a model curriculum for medical student education and to create materials for health care professionals. She continues to be involved in professional development initiatives in the substance abuse field. In 1999, she was the first recipients of the Harold Hughes Award given annually by the National Institute of Medicine's National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. It is given in recognition for efforts to assist in the translation of scientific research into clinical practice. Loosening the Grip was one of her efforts cited in this award.

Overview

This text offers a through approach to understanding alcohol and its physical and psychological affects on an individual. It is the only comprehensive, self-contained book intended to cover the range of psychological factors, physical complications, treatment options, and family concerns. The text is easy to read and covers a broad range of situations making it suitable for academics, students, or families of alcoholics.

New to This Edition

• Includes the range of treatment available from the variety of formal treatments, to self-help programs including those in addiction to AA (e.g. Rational Recovery and Women for Sobriety), and also some of the newer drug therapies that have been helpful for some patients, with the research to date and the indications and contraindications to their use
  
• Addresses the issues surrounding treatment in the era of managed care/HMO's.
  
• Includes information on other drugs than alcohol, supplying additional support on addiction and helping the reader understand that it is not just an alcohol problem.
  
• Highlights the differences between the terms "illness" vs. "disease" by offering a new discussion on the definition of alcoholism and its causes, and providing the student a foundation for understanding the current debate over whether or not alcoholism is disease ("involuntary disability") or character defect (voluntary disability).

Features

• Synthesizes relevant information from medicine, psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, sociology, and counseling that applies to alcohol use and alcoholism treatment
  
• Offers a highly approachable and readable style, with broad coverage in terms of age groups, social institutions, and counseling options.
  
• Discusses special concerns such as adolescents, suicide, psychiatric illnesses, and polysubstance abuse (Chapter 10).

Ch. 1 Alcohol 1

Ch. 2 Alcohol and Its Costs 30

Ch. 3 Alcohol and the Body 51

Ch. 4 Alcohol Dependence 77

Ch. 5 Etiology of Alcohol Dependence 99

Ch. 6 Medical Complications 140

Ch. 7 The Behavior of Dependence 190

Ch. 8 Effects of Alcohol Problems on the Family 206

Ch. 9 Evaluation and Treatment Overview 229

Ch. 10 Treatment Techniques and Approaches 287

Ch. 11 Special Populations 357

Ch. 12 Other Psychiatric Considerations 472

Ch. 13 Drugs of Abuse Other Than Alcohol 504

Ch. 14 Odds 'n' Ends 583

App. A Organizations and Resources in the Substance Abuse Field 623

App. B The Interaction Effects of Alcohol with Other Drugs 634

App. C Diagnostic Criteria: Substance Use Disorders 638

Index 642