Download or read book BETTER IS BETTER stories of alcohol harm reduction written by Kenneth Anderson and published by The HAMS Harm Reduction Network, Inc.. This book was released on 2019-10-22 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contains the stories of men and women who have used the HAMS (Harm reduction, Abstinence, and Moderation Support) program to overcome their problems with alcohol and change their lives. Experts in the addictions field say the following about this book: Through these moving personal stories, we learn not only how HAMS works but how addiction works. And we learn that overcoming addiction doesn’t have to adhere to a rigid program or philosophy. HAMS succeeds because it connects with people who drink, on their own terms, respects their goals and wishes, recognizes their strengths and supports them where they need and want support. These little memoirs are as varied in style and substance as the individuals who wrote them, but they converge on themes that just don’t go away, including the inadequacy of AA for many who drink, despite its value for some. Intimately told, both raw and articulate, these memoirs reveal how people struggling with addiction can help each other through sensitivity and generosity rather than judgment and dogma. Marc Lewis, PhD. Author of The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease If you are looking for an alternative to 12 step groups that will support you in changing your drinking - whether you want to abstain, moderate or just cut down - check out HAMS. It's evidence-based, supportive, non-judgmental, non-religious and even fun! Maia Szalavitz Author of Unbroken Brain Kenneth Anderson and April Smith have given us a book that will help thousands of people, told from the point of view of people who have already been helped by HAMS. Many of the stories show how ingenuity, freedom of choice, and concern for one’s wellbeing can lead to meaningful changes in problem drinking habits. Many of the stories would shock the hell out of most treatment programs and staff. Many of the stories had me biting my nails hoping that it would turn out okay. What a relief to be reminded that, given respect, kindness, and support, even the most outlandish harm reduction plans save and improve peoples’ lives. Patt Denning, PhD Director of The Center for Harm Reduction Therapy Co-author of Over the Influence The three-page introduction to Better Is Better ought to be required reading for anyone in this country with a connection to addiction and recovery (which is most of us, but especially health and mental health professionals). The scientific findings succinctly described there would re-shape US addiction treatment and recovery, if they were known and used. Unfortunately, these findings continue to be overshadowed by substantially outdated ideas and methods. This little page book then contains 14 stories of change (eight women, six men), none longer than three pages. These stories will be informative and inspiring to a wide range of individuals who are considering or acting upon a desire to reduce (or eliminate) drinking problems, and they could be the basis for discussion in a mutual help or treatment group. I can't think of a better bang for your 99 cents! A. Tom Horvath, PhD President, Practical Recovery Psychology Group, San Diego Past President, SMART Recovery HAMS is an amazing and much-needed organization, expanding how we think about addiction in brave and thought-provoking ways. Everyone should read this book. Johann Hari Author of Chasing the Scream HAMS is a group for people who want support to changes their drinking. Support: not chastisement, not admonitions, not guilt tripping. Just sharing: feelings, experiences, histories, successes and failures. And that nonjudgmental approach - which is so different from AA - makes people feel better about themselves and allows them to pursue their goals better, longer, and in more areas of their lives (drinking included, but not exclusively). And what are their goals around drinking? Well, you’ll have to read this book of human stories to see! Stanton Peele Author of Recover!

Download or read book How to Change Your Drinking written by Kenneth Anderson and published by HAMS Harm Reduction Network. This book was released on 2010 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Preface by Alan Marlatt, introduction by Patt Denning."--Cover.

Download or read book Harm Reduction Psychotherapy written by Andrew Tatarsky and published by Jason Aronson. This book was released on 2007-06-10 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This ground-breaking volume provides readers with both an overview of harm reduction therapy and a series of ten case studies, treated by different therapists, that vividly illustrate this treatment approach with a wide variety of clients. Harm reduction is a framework for helping drug and alcohol users who cannot or will not stop completely—the majority of users—reduce the harmful consequences of use. Harm reduction accepts that abstinence may be the best outcome for many but relaxes the emphasis on abstinence as the only acceptable goal and criterion of success. Instead, smaller incremental changes in the direction of reduced harmfulness of drug use are accepted. This book will show how these simple changes in emphasis and expectation have dramatic implications for improving the effectiveness of psychotherapy in many ways. From the Foreword by Alan Marlatt, Ph.D.: “This ground-breaking volume provides readers with both an overview of harm reduction therapy and a series of ten case studies, treated by different therapists, that vividly illustrate this treatment approach with a wide variety of clients. In his introduction, Andrew Tatarsky describes harm reduction as a new paradigm for treating drug and alcohol problems. Some would say that harm reduction embraces a paradigm shift in addiction treatment, as it has moved the field beyond the traditional abstinence-only focus typically associated with the disease model and the ideology of the twelve-step approach. Others may conclude that the move toward harm reduction represents an integration of what Dr. Tatarsky describes as the “basic principles of good clinical practice” into the treatment of addictive behaviors. “Changing addiction behavior is often a complex and complicated process for both client and therapist. What seems to work best is the development of a strong therapeutic alliance, the right fit between the client and treatment provider. The role of the harm reduction therapist is closer to that of a guide, someone who can provide support an

Download or read book Over the Influence written by Patt Denning and published by Guilford Press. This book was released on 2003-11-15 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twelve-step programs that insist on abstinence are beneficial to many--but what about the millions of Americans who try to quit and fail, just want to cut down, or wish to work toward sobriety gradually? This groundbreaking book presents the Harm Reduction approach, a powerful alternative to traditional treatment that helps users set and meet their own goals for gaining control over drinking and drugs. The expert, empathic authors guide readers to figure out which aspects of their own habits may be harmful, what they would like to change, and how to put their intentions into action while also dealing with problems that stand in the way, such as depression, stress, and relationship conflicts. Based on solid science and 40+ years of combined clinical experience, the book is packed with self-discovery tools, fact sheets, and personal accounts. It puts the reader in the driver's seat with a new and empowering roadmap for change. Winner--American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award

Download or read book Over the Influence written by Patt Denning and published by Guilford Publications. This book was released on 2017-06-19 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Just say no" just doesn't work for everyone. If you've tried to quit and failed, simply want to cut down, or wish to work toward sobriety gradually, join the many thousands of readers who have turned to this empathic, science-based resource--now thoroughly revised. A powerful alternative to abstinence-only treatments, harm reduction helps you set and meet your own goals for gaining control over alcohol and drugs. Step by step, the expert authors guide you to determine: *Which aspects of your habits may be harmful. *How to protect your safety and make informed choices. *What changes you would like to make. *How to put your intentions into action. *When it's time to seek help--and where to turn. Updated to reflect a decade's worth of research, the fully revised second edition is even more practical. It features additional vivid stories and concrete examples, engaging graphics, new worksheets (which you can download and print for repeated use), "Self-Reflection" boxes, and more. Mental health professionals, see also the authors' Practicing Harm Reduction Psychotherapy, Second Edition.

Download or read book Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students BASICS written by Linda A. Dimeff and published by Guilford Press. This book was released on 1999-01-08 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This instructive manual presents a pragmatic and clinically proven approach to the prevention and treatment of undergraduate alcohol abuse. The BASICS model is a nonconfrontational, harm reduction approach that helps students reduce their alcohol consumption and decrease the behavioral and health risks associated with heavy drinking. Including numerous reproducible handouts and assessment forms, the book takes readers step-by-step through conducting BASICS assessment and feedback sessions. Special topics covered include the use of DSM-IV criteria to evaluate alcohol abuse, ways to counter student defensiveness about drinking, and obtaining additional treatment for students with severe alcohol dependency. Note about Photocopy Rights: The Publisher grants individual book purchasers nonassignable permission to reproduce selected figures, information sheets, and assessment instruments in this book for professional use. For details and limitations, see copyright page.

Download or read book Alcohol in America written by United States Department of Transportation and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1985-02-01 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alcohol is a killerâ€"1 of every 13 deaths in the United States is alcohol-related. In addition, 5 percent of the population consumes 50 percent of the alcohol. The authors take a close look at the problem in a "classy little study," as The Washington Post called this book. The Library Journal states, "...[T]his is one book that addresses solutions....And it's enjoyably readable....This is an excellent review for anyone in the alcoholism prevention business, and good background reading for the interested layperson." The Washington Post agrees: the book "...likely will wind up on the bookshelves of counselors, politicians, judges, medical professionals, and law enforcement officials throughout the country."

Download or read book Over the Influence First Edition written by Patt Denning and published by Guilford Press. This book was released on 2003-11-14 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twelve-step programs that insist on abstinence are beneficial to many--but what about the millions of Americans who try to quit and fail, just want to cut down, or wish to work toward sobriety gradually? This groundbreaking book presents the Harm Reduction approach, a powerful alternative to traditional treatment that helps users set and meet their own goals for gaining control over drinking and drugs. The expert, empathic authors guide readers to figure out which aspects of their own habits may be harmful, what they would like to change, and how to put their intentions into action while also dealing with problems that stand in the way, such as depression, stress, and relationship conflicts. Based on solid science and 40+ years of combined clinical experience, the book is packed with self-discovery tools, fact sheets, and personal accounts. It puts the reader in the driver's seat with a new and empowering roadmap for change. Winner--American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award

Download or read book In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts written by Gabor Maté, MD and published by North Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2011-06-28 with total page 522 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “thought-provoking and powerful” study that reframes everything you’ve been taught about addiction and recovery—from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Myth of Normal (Bruce Perry, author of The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog). A world-renowned trauma expert combines real-life stories with cutting-edge research to offer a holistic approach to understanding addiction—its origins, its place in society, and the importance of self-compassion in recovery. Based on Gabor Maté’s two decades of experience as a medical doctor and his groundbreaking work with people with addiction on Vancouver’s skid row, this #1 international bestseller radically re-envisions a much misunderstood condition by taking a compassionate approach to substance abuse and addiction recovery. In the same vein as Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts traces the root causes of addiction to childhood trauma and examines the pervasiveness of addiction in society. Dr. Maté presents addiction not as a discrete phenomenon confined to an unfortunate or weak-willed few, but as a continuum that runs throughout—and perhaps underpins—our society. It is not a medical “condition” distinct from the lives it affects but rather the result of a complex interplay among personal history, emotional and neurological development, brain chemistry, and the drugs and behaviors of addiction. Simplifying a wide array of brain and addiction research findings from around the globe, the book avoids glib self-help remedies, instead promoting a thorough and compassionate self-understanding as the first key to healing and wellness. Dr. Maté argues persuasively against contemporary health, social, and criminal justice policies toward addiction and how they perpetuate the War on Drugs. The mix of personal stories—including the author’s candid discussion of his own “high-status” addictive tendencies—and science with positive solutions makes the book equally useful for lay readers and professionals.

Download or read book Treating Alcohol and Drug Problems in Psychotherapy Practice written by Arnold M. Washton and published by Guilford Press. This book was released on 2011-11-14 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book has been replaced by Treating Alcohol and Drug Problems in Psychotherapy Practice, Second Edition, ISBN 978-1-4625-5086-9.

Download or read book Controlling Your Drinking written by William R. Miller and published by Guilford Press. This book was released on 2013-06-28 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Interested in cutting down on your drinking without giving it up altogether? This encouraging, science-based book can help make that goal a reality. Distinguished clinician-researchers William R. Miller and Ricardo F. Muñoz have spent more than 40 years studying whether moderation works, who it works (and doesn't work) for, and how to achieve it. They give you tools to evaluate your alcohol consumption, decide what changes you want to make, and create a doable plan of action. Learn new ways to enjoy social events, defuse tension and stress, and cope with difficult emotions--with or without a glass in hand. The updated second edition incorporates the latest scientific data and features a new chapter on mindfulness. Helpful forms and worksheets can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

Download or read book Reducing Underage Drinking written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2004-03-26 with total page 761 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alcohol use by young people is extremely dangerous - both to themselves and society at large. Underage alcohol use is associated with traffic fatalities, violence, unsafe sex, suicide, educational failure, and other problem behaviors that diminish the prospects of future success, as well as health risks â€" and the earlier teens start drinking, the greater the danger. Despite these serious concerns, the media continues to make drinking look attractive to youth, and it remains possible and even easy for teenagers to get access to alcohol. Why is this dangerous behavior so pervasive? What can be done to prevent it? What will work and who is responsible for making sure it happens? Reducing Underage Drinking addresses these questions and proposes a new way to combat underage alcohol use. It explores the ways in which may different individuals and groups contribute to the problem and how they can be enlisted to prevent it. Reducing Underage Drinking will serve as both a game plan and a call to arms for anyone with an investment in youth health and safety.

Download or read book Paying the Tab written by Philip J. Cook and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2011-06-27 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What drug provides Americans with the greatest pleasure and the greatest pain? The answer, hands down, is alcohol. The pain comes not only from drunk driving and lost lives but also addiction, family strife, crime, violence, poor health, and squandered human potential. Young and old, drinkers and abstainers alike, all are affected. Every American is paying for alcohol abuse. Paying the Tab, the first comprehensive analysis of this complex policy issue, calls for broadening our approach to curbing destructive drinking. Over the last few decades, efforts to reduce the societal costs--curbing youth drinking and cracking down on drunk driving--have been somewhat effective, but woefully incomplete. In fact, American policymakers have ignored the influence of the supply side of the equation. Beer and liquor are far cheaper and more readily available today than in the 1950s and 1960s. Philip Cook's well-researched and engaging account chronicles the history of our attempts to "legislate morality," the overlooked lessons from Prohibition, and the rise of Alcoholics Anonymous. He provides a thorough account of the scientific evidence that has accumulated over the last twenty-five years of economic and public-health research, which demonstrates that higher alcohol excise taxes and other supply restrictions are effective and underutilized policy tools that can cut abuse while preserving the pleasures of moderate consumption. Paying the Tab makes a powerful case for a policy course correction. Alcohol is too cheap, and it's costing all of us.

Download or read book Recovery Options written by Joseph Volpicelli and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2008-05-02 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A clear and compassionate guide to overcoming substance problems "A no-nonsense, state-of-the-art guide."--Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Coming Plague "Comprehensive, illuminating, easy to read."--William Cope Moyers, Vice President of Public Affairs, Hazelden Foundation In Recovery Options: The Complete Guide, Joseph Volpicelli, M.D., Ph.D., an award-winning addiction research pioneer, and Maia Szalavitz, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist and former addict, provide frank and impartial appraisals of all the major treatment options, including: * Alcoholics Anonymous * Moderate drinking programs * Alternative treatments * Therapeutic communities * Cognitive therapies * Other 12-step programs * Medications * Methadone * Harm reduction * How families can help In Recovery Options: The Complete Guide, you will learn what addictionis--and what it isn't. You will examine both the mechanism of addiction and how you can make the best treatment choices . . . why some people are particularly prone to substance problems . . . and the genetic and learning mechanisms that help create these conditions. You'll explore the various types of treatment and the ideas on which they are based, and find out how effective each treatment is--and which ones are not effective. Finally, you'll find supportive information on staying clean and sober, preventing relapse, and minimizing damage caused by slips that may occur. Featuring the dramatic real-life stories of patients' experiences (both good and bad) with various methods of recovery, this warm, sympathetic, and accessible guide to overcoming alcohol and other drug problems will help you and your loved ones begin the journey away from substance misuse toward a better life.

Download or read book Chasing the Scream written by Johann Hari and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-01-20 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times Bestseller What if everything you think you know about addiction is wrong? Johann Hari's journey into the heart of the war on drugs led him to ask this question--and to write the book that gave rise to his viral TED talk, viewed more than 62 million times, and inspired the feature film The United States vs. Billie Holiday and the documentary series The Fix. One of Johann Hari's earliest memories is of trying to wake up one of his relatives and not being able to. As he grew older, he realized he had addiction in his family. Confused, not knowing what to do, he set out and traveled over 30,000 miles over three years to discover what really causes addiction--and what really solves it. He uncovered a range of remarkable human stories--of how the war on drugs began with Billie Holiday, the great jazz singer, being stalked and killed by a racist policeman; of the scientist who discovered the surprising key to addiction; and of the countries that ended their own war on drugs--with extraordinary results. Chasing the Scream is the story of a life-changing journey that transformed the addiction debate internationally--and showed the world that the opposite of addiction is connection.

Download or read book Coming to Harm Reduction Kicking and Screaming written by Dee-Dee Stout and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2009-09-12 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provocative and insightful, "Kicking and Screaming" is filled with numerous personal stories from the inside of both 12-Step and harm reduction. It is the first book of its kind, answering the question, "What is harm reduction really and what would the founders of AA actually have thought of it?" "Kicking and Screaming" is a blueprint for a new road to recovery - a new look at recovery - and acts as a bridge between 12-Step and harm reduction for the next generation.

Download or read book The Harm Reduction Gap written by Sheila P. Vakharia and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-02-09 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This long-awaited book teaches how harm reduction can be a safety net for people with substance use disorders that our current addiction treatment rejects, abandons, and leaves behind. Harm reduction is an approach to helping people who engage in high-risk activities to develop the skills and strategies to keep them and their communities safe. This can include the provision of sterile equipment, low-threshold and low-barrier care, and the acceptance of non-abstinence goals in treatment. In this novel guide, Dr. Vakharia discusses the shortcomings of the dominant “Just Say No” drug prevention messages and abstinence-only treatment approaches, introduces harm reduction strategies and technologies borne from people who use drugs themselves, and suggests various policy options available as alternatives to the current policies that criminalize drugs, drug-using equipment, and the settings in which people use drugs. The final chapter calls on the reader to destigmatize drug use and support efforts to reform our drug policies. By highlighting the large gap in our current approach to substance use – the harm reduction gap – this book is the first step for those interested in learning more about the limitations of our current approach to drug use and how to support local efforts to ensure people who use drugs and their communities can stay safe.