Addiction Treatment: A Strengths Perspective. . - book review

Adolescence, Spring, 2003

WORMER, Katherine van, & DAVIS, Diane Rae. Addiction Treatment: A Strengths Perspective. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole--Thompson Learning, 2003. 480pp. (p).

This book presents the strengths perspective as the unifying framework of the text to bridge the gap between 12-step approaches and harm reduction in addictions treatment. This perspective is applied to the treatment of alcoholism, eating disorders, compulsive gambling, and other addictions. Divided into four parts, Addiction Treatment is comprised of three core sections that cover the biology, psychology, and social aspects of addiction. It offers comprehensive coverage of a range of addictive problems, such as gambling, alcoholism, eating disorders, and cocaine addiction; includes discussion of more recent drugs, such as ecstasy and meth; presents client-centered approaches, such as the strengths perspective and the harm reduction model; provides an analysis of current U.S. drug policies and related social justice issues, enabling the reader to understand these issues in relationship to addiction treatment; describes treatment innovations, including drug courts, pharmaceutical treatments, gender-specific pr ogramming, and the European approach to addiction; and includes many case examples to help the reader apply the concepts presented in the text.