Alcoholism Books

I have been working in the addiction treatment field for over 20 years, including in the Therapeutic Community setting. This book is the best overview of the model ever done. It provides a balance of the theory behind the philosophy and interventions of the TC, while also speaking to the specific activities which take place. If you really want to read about the premise of this approach, this book is the place to start.

As a rank amateur, a square who volunteers at a 'half-way house' for indigent returning ex-offenders and recovering addicts, I have found this book of immense value in suggesting ways in which group living can be combined with 'self help' and even cognitive-emotional-behavioral therapy as a positive force for personal change. But it also told me much more than I wanted to know about the details involved in running a large scale program with significant financial and residential resources and a professional staff. Its relatively brief discussion of the "stages of change" can be complimented by the excellent "Group Treatment for Substance Abuse, a Stages-of-Change Therapy Manual," by Mary Velasquez and her colleagues.I hope this author soon turns his considerable experience and expertise and abilities as a clear exponent of complex ideas to the problems faced by programs run on a shoe string, with no professional staff, but attempting to serve persons with problems and life circumstances exactly like those of the typical TC resident.

Summer vacation for 13-year-old Mary Louise Monroe has been pretty typical. She's spent countless hours at the public pool with her two friends, trying to get hunky lifeguard Blaise Paradise to notice her. To her surprise, he does--right after she sneezes on him. Despite that incident, he asks her out to a Fourth of July party. How can she be so lucky? Is he honestly interested in her, or is he just using her?

Louise is also debating on whether or not she should skip a grade and go right on to high school next fall. She's smart enough, plus she would be at the same school as Blaise, but she would also be leaving her best friend behind. Could her friendship with Becky survive if Louise decides to enter high school without her?

Her summer dilemmas are soon trivialized, though, when her feisty 60-something grandmother (the woman Louise was named after) is brought up from Florida to live out her last days with family. She's dying from lung cancer and probably won't live out the summer. Still she's determined to be around for fall when the leaves begin to change colors. That is her last wish. But will she make it?

"Till the Leaves Change" is a touching book for 8 to 12-year-olds about coping with the death of a loved one. It's only 122 pages, so most young readers shouldn't have any trouble finishing this one, especially if you can relate to Louise and her family.

This is a truly wonderful book for young readers about a girl whose world is thrown out of whack when her cancer-stricken grandmother comes to live with her and her family. Young Louise is confused and perturbed that this woman, who has basically been a stranger to her, has been allowed to move in and upset the whole routine of their family! And to top it off, Louise's mom doesn't seem particularly thrilled with the situation, either -- in fact, she's downright ambivalent about it. It turns out the grandma was an alcoholic, and not exactly Donna Reed material! So, it's no surprise when Louise is less than enthusiastic in welcoming her grandma. It isn't long, though, before Louise and her irresistably funny Grandma become friends. Louise learns valuable lessons about what it means to be human, the power of forgiveness, and letting go of what you love. The book provides a particularly thought-provoking look at alcoholism and the deep rifts it can leave in a family, as well as an excellent example of a child facing her first major loss.

From the first sentence of this book, I felt like it was written just for me-like Dr. Petit knew me. Coming from an extremely abusive ACOA home, I'm learning how to trust, to open up, and live, not just survive for the first time in my life. I emailed Dr. Petit to thank him, and he wrote back to encourage me, and let me know he will pray for me every day, which was such a blessing. I encourage every ACOA to get this book, to work through it, and to see the wonderful life God wants for us, to realize we are special, unique and worth caring a about. We don't get to choose our parents, but we can choose our future, and this book is helping me do that. It's hard to confront the past, but it's also wonderfully freeing, and for the first time in my life, I have hope for peace, and to live the life God wants for me.

This amazing book delivers information on how to heal yourself and develop life skills. It gets you to think about where you're at and where you'd like to be. By answering questions and learning skills through simple exercises, I've found that I increased both my self-awareness and self-esteem. It covers most of the characteristics that Janet Woititz identified and empowers you to work on your recovery. It also includes a positive spiritual component missing in other books.

A few friends and I have started a support group working on one chapter each week. Doing this in a group is scary but wonderful and life changing.

I recommend this book to anyone who is serious about growth and recovery because it shows you in detail how (with work) to arrive at a happier and more successful life,

In contrast to the now popular emphasis on addictive drugs "hijacking" the brain reward centers and producing pleasure, Dr. Khantzian life work has pursued an alternative route in explaining why addictive drugs can become so compelling in an individual's life. His emphasis has mainly and consistently been on the human psychological vulnerabilities involved in addictive suffering. Based on three decades of clinical work with patients, as well as numerous clinical investigative studies, Dr.Khantzian has persuasively instructed us that suffering and problems with selfregulation are at the root of addictive disorders. His work has repeatedly underscored that individuals who become dependent on addictive substances (including alcohol and nicotine) do so not because they seek pleasure or self-destruction (some have considered addictions as "suicide on the installment plan"), but more because they use alcohol and other addictive drugs as an attempt to self-medicate their suffering and to regulate their lives. Although in the long run such attempts cause great disruption in peoples' lives, in the short run individuals have the powerful discovery that each class of drugs have appeal because they relieve a range of painful feelings and help to cope with powerful emotions and behaviors that for them are otherwise overwhelming and unmanageable. Dr.Khantzian has been described as the "father of the self-medication hypothesis of addictive disorders," and has also written extensively on "self-care" deficits associated with the addictions, the importance and utility of modified group techniques and self-help groups in recovery and effective treatments. Dr. Khantzian writes persuasively, evocatively, and compassionately about the human vulnerabilities involved in addictive disorders. Dr. Alan Stone, Professor of Law and Psychiatry at Harvard University, has characterized Dr. Khantzian as a "master � clinician exploring the internal world of the addicted person � convincingly demonstrating his self-medication hypothesis," and novelist Dr. Michael Palmer has said that Dr. Khantzian's book, Treating Addiction as a Human Process, is a "highly intelligent volume that can be read with pleasure and awe from beginning to end. It is the cornerstone on which the next generation of knowledge in addiction medicine will be built." Dr. Khantzian has been acknowledged as a pioneering clinician in understanding the psychological and psychiatric pain associated with substance use disorders, and his focus on the self-medicating function of abused substances, and the refinement of his work stressing addict's ego deficits of selfregulation and self-care have become the standard in the field of addiction treatment.

Edward J. Khantzian is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, and a founding member of the Department of Psychiatry at The Cambridge Hospital. He has spent more than 20 years studying psychological factors associated with drug and alcohol abuse. Dr. Khantzian is a practicing psychiatrist and psychoanalyst,participant in numerous clinical research studies on substance abuse, and lecturer and writer on psychiatry, psychoanalysis, and substance abuse problems. Dr. Khantzian has been involved in studies diagnosing psychiatric disorders in heroin addicts, the psychological nature of addictive vulnerability, group therapeutic approaches for cocaine abusers, and studies of polysubstance abusers. His studies,publications, and teaching has gained him recognition for his contributions on selfmedication factors and self-care deficits in substance use disorders and the importance of modified techniques in group therapy for substance abusers. "The above words are not mine ,they were taken from another web site and posted here for information purposes. It would be wonderful if a truly new light has shone in this whole area of addiction and a new understanding begins to grow."

In contrast to the now popular emphasis on addictive drugs "hijacking" the brain reward centers and producing pleasure, Dr. Khantzian life work has pursued an alternative route in explaining why addictive drugs can become so compelling in an individual's life. His emphasis has mainly and consistently been on the human psychological vulnerabilities involved in addictive suffering. Based on three decades of clinical work with patients, as well as numerous clinical investigative studies, Dr.Khantzian has persuasively instructed us that suffering and problems with selfregulation are at the root of addictive disorders. His work has repeatedly underscored that individuals who become dependent on addictive substances (including alcohol and nicotine) do so not because they seek pleasure or self-destruction (some have considered addictions as "suicide on the installment plan"), but more because they use alcohol and other addictive drugs as an attempt to self-medicate their suffering and to regulate their lives. Although in the long run such attempts cause great disruption in peoples' lives, in the short run individuals have the powerful discovery that each class of drugs have appeal because they relieve a range of painful feelings and help to cope with powerful emotions and behaviors that for them are otherwise overwhelming and unmanageable. Dr.Khantzian has been described as the "father of the self-medication hypothesis of addictive disorders," and has also written extensively on "self-care" deficits associated with the addictions, the importance and utility of modified group techniques and self-help groups in recovery and effective treatments. Dr. Khantzian writes persuasively, evocatively, and compassionately about the human vulnerabilities involved in addictive disorders. Dr. Alan Stone, Professor of Law and Psychiatry at Harvard University, has characterized Dr. Khantzian as a "master ... clinician exploring the internal world of the addicted person ... convincingly demonstrating his self-medication hypothesis," and novelist Dr. Michael Palmer has said that Dr. Khantzian's book, Treating Addiction as a Human Process, is a "highly intelligent volume that can be read with pleasure and awe from beginning to end. It is the cornerstone on which the next generation of knowledge in addiction medicine will be built." Dr. Khantzian has been acknowledged as a pioneering clinician in understanding the psychological and psychiatric pain associated with substance use disorders, and his focus on the self-medicating function of abused substances, and the refinement of his work stressing addict's ego deficits of selfregulation and self-care have become the standard in the field of addiction treatment.

Edward J. Khantzian is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, and a founding member of the Department of Psychiatry at The Cambridge Hospital. He has spent more than 20 years studying psychological factors associated with drug and alcohol abuse. Dr. Khantzian is a practicing psychiatrist and psychoanalyst,participant in numerous clinical research studies on substance abuse, and lecturer and writer on psychiatry, psychoanalysis, and substance abuse problems. Dr. Khantzian has been involved in studies diagnosing psychiatric disorders in heroin addicts, the psychological nature of addictive vulnerability, group therapeutic approaches for cocaine abusers, and studies of polysubstance abusers. His studies,publications, and teaching has gained him recognition for his contributions on selfmedication factors and self-care deficits in substance use disorders and the importance of modified techniques in group therapy for substance abusers. "The above words are not mine ,they were taken from another web site and posted here for information purposes. It would be wonderful if a truly new light has shone in this whole area of addiction and a new understanding begins to grow."

As a chemical dependency student, I've found this to be an invaluable supplemental reference to my textbooks. The book aims to help counselors match clients with appropriate treatment approaches, covering six major approaches for non-physicians: (1) 12-step models, (2) psychodynamic, (3) marital/family, (4) cognitive behavioral, (5) contingency management, and (6) motivational approaches. The chapters are divided accordingly, with different experts writing on each approach. There is also a chapter on psychopharmacological approaches to treatment written by Kathleen M. Carroll. The final chapter shows how clinicians often use aspects of many of the approaches covered in this book in clinical practice. The section on 12-step models was not as comprehensive as I would have liked, though there are plenty of books out there dealing with the subject more concretely. The purpose of this book was to provide a basic overview of the kinds of treatment approaches being utilized for substance use disorders in clinical practice. Published in 2003, this second edition is well written and still current.

Lennon is musics greatest gift since Bach! Buy it. It's a Lennon classic of his pre-Beatle favorites.....

Awesome book! Appears to be simple to read and simple to do the exercises. It is hard than it looks, but Herb K. simplifies it better than most. If you want to morph into being a spiritual being, then this is the book is for you. This book is about spiritual personal transformation for both the religious as well as the non-religious person.

I've done a few sets of steps in the last 31 years. This was a great, comprehensive, Big Book and 12x12 oriented guide. I'll recommend it to all my sponsees

After 10+ years in "the program" and focusing on the 3rd and 11th steps, I needed to know "the power" better. Two Tracks One Goal is like a revelation! The "connecting of the dots" shows me that I've been a part of the Lord's PLAN all along! Praise God! Dr. Chambers (at first, I had resentments... "what could HE know he wasn't an alcoholic!")does an anointed mission to spell out very clearly how AA relates to the larger issues of wholeness, healing, recovery, and health through the Will of God. Thank you Dr. Chambers, may your eternal rewards be great. This book has helped me tremendously.

In the Church world, many have wondered if Alcoholics Anonymous is in competition with its teachings. Some have even gone so far as to call it a "cult."

Dr. Chambers has written one of the best apologetics for the Christian use of the 12 Step approach available today.

He clearly explains the roots of the fellowship and describes how the two tracks have the one goal of spiritual growth and wholeness.

Michael Liimatta

This book is an excellent read. I will have all my children, nieces, and nephews read Ultimate Dichotomy. If you have a rebellious teen, I highly recommend this book for both parent and child.

This book is an excellent read. I will have all my children, nieces, and nephews read Ultimate Dichotomy. If you have a rebellious teen, I highly recommend this book for both parent and child.

This is an excellent source for those wanting to enter the field of counseling. My brother committed suicide in 2003. Before he did, I asked a pastor about my brother's crack/cocaine addiction, but the pastor was unable to help me. For many years I resented this. After reading this book, I now understand why my questions were not answered, and why that pastor continued to ask question after question. At the time I did not understand you need so much more information than simply asking what can I do to help.

PART 1: UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEMS OF CHEMICAL AND BEHAVIORAL ADDICTIONS Chapter 1: Who Are Alcoholics and Drug-Addicted Persons? Some Working Definitions Chapter 2: Multiple Causes of Addictions, Multiple Levels of Prevention Chapter 3: Understanding Drug Dependence Chapter 4: Behavioral or Process Addictions: Understanding and Helping Chapter 5: Understanding and Helping Those at Special Risk of Addiction PART II: EXPLORING SOME RELIGIOUS APPROACHES TO ADDICTIONS Chapter 6: How Religion Helps Low-Bottom Alcoholics and Drug Addicts Chapter 7: Alcoholics Anonymous: Still Our Greatest Resource Chapter 8: Other Paths to Recovery and Beyond Chapter 9: Psychosocial Dynamics of Religious Approaches to Alcoholism and Other Drug Addictions Chapter 10: Understanding Ethical Issues in Addiction and Recovery PART III: METHODS OF COUNSELING WITH ALCOHOLICS AND OTHER ADDICTED PERSONS Chapter 11: Preparation for Counseling Alcoholics and Other Addicted Persons Chapter 12: Counseling for Recovery and Beyond: Motivating and Beginning the Process Chapter 13: Counseling for Recovery and Beyond: Basic Methods Chapter 14: Counseling with Families for Recovery: A Systems Approach to Codependency Chapter 15: Developing Effective Addiction Treatment and Prevention Programs: A Strategic Opportunity for Religious Organizations

Let's say that you have studied early A.A. history as I have. Let's say you have learned that A.A.'s basic ideas came from the Bible, that Dr. Bob read and circulated books on the subject, that Anne Smith recorded the facts in her journal and shared with others, that Quiet Time and devotionals were important, and that there were a host of other historical influences like: (a) The Oxford Group. (b) United Christian Endeavor Society. (c)Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr. (d) Professor William James. (e)Dr. Carl Gustav Jung. (f) William D. Silkworth, M.D. (g) Lay therapist Richard Peabody. (h) The YMCA. (i) The Gospel rescue missions. (j) New Thought writings, and more. How do you learn these things and condense them into communications that will help a drunk to get sober today. First you have to learn the facts. Second, you have to believe the facts. Third, you have to see that there are diverse and varied factors. Fourth, it would be a good idea to look at Dick B.'s 33 published titles on early A.A.'s history, roots, and successes. Fifth, it would be valuable to form a study group and study. Sixth, it would be valuable to contact Dick and others in his new, world-wide history fellowship of people who are enthusiastic about God, A.A., the Bible, the history, and helping drunks and addicts get well. I can't say this book will give you all the answers. I can say it will tell you what the job is and how you might approach it in love and service to God, those in the fellowship, and those new people who want and need deliverance and are hearing everything and anything someone thinks about what A.A. was, is, or ought to be. I needed an inspiration book that told me I could use my own believing, A.A.'s roots, and the tools of present-day A.A. and help someone get well. This book does it for me.

Theology Professor Emeritus, and expert in the field of pastoral counseling for those with alcohol, drug, and behavioral addictions, The Reverend Howard J. Clinebell, Ph.D., made one simple statement in endorsing this book by Dick B. Dr. Clinebell had himself long been involved in researching A.A., and he said of this title: "Carefully researched volume by the leading historian of A.A." And it takes one to know one. In fact, Clinebell had asked Dick to review and endorse his own recent updating of the famous pastoral counseling book; and he wanted to be sure the A.A. material in this new work was in tune with several decades of new research. And it was. It was for the reason that it marked the point where Dick had located, earmarked, and published on the several historical roots of A.A. and felt compelled to examine their applicability in the trenches. This book was published and used at the time of Bill's 1998 A.A. heritage lectures at The Wilson House in Vermont. Dick reviewed A.A.'s origins in Akron and origins in New York and then raised the plaguing question "Is A.A. spiritual, or religious?" The answer involves three different points: (1) It is both since the two words are synonymous when the Society is examined in terms of its cardinal objective--to help alcoholics find and establish a relationship with God. (2) It really doesn't matter since most AAs, if pressed, could not agree on the difference, if any. (3) The distinction really involves whether one is looking at the A.A. of yesteryear (Christian and religious) or the A.A. of today (universal in stated mission, yet recognizably religious in action. Early A.A. is examined for its Bible roots, primarily from the Book of James, Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13. Then its Steps are examined for those verses which gave rise to the progression of life-change ideas designed to lead to a conversion. Then for the verses which were the foundation for the all-important morning Quiet Time and the subsequent Eleventh Step--a new birth, an evening review, a morning start with Bible/prayer/guidance/and devotionals. Then for the ideas and verses used in the Oxford Group and by Rev. Sam Shoemaker to buttress the life-changing actions. Then for such contributions from the teachings of Dr. Bob's wife and from the literature AAs read. Then followed Dick's introduction to the theme he has used to this day: You cannot dispel the nonsense gods and their absurd names, nor the half-baked prayers, nor the self-made religion, nor the obsession with the importance of "meetings" until and unless you learn from A.A.'s own history that none of these had a signficant part in early A.A. You can make sense of A.A. as it is today if you choose to learn its history and study it as you study the A.A. Big Book and Steps. I'm all for it!