Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access originally published online on September 13, 2007
Alcohol and Alcoholism 2007 42(6):641; doi:10.1093/alcalc/agm071
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Reviews
Patients with substance abuse problems: Effective Identification, Diagnosis, and Treatment. By Edgar P. Nace, Joyce A. Tinsley
; Edgar P. NACE and A. Tinsley Joyce. Patients with Substance Abuse Problems: Effective Identification, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Norton Professional Books. 24th April 2007. £ 14.99. 224 pgsThis new publication is aimed primarily at clinicians not specifically trained in addiction treatment, but with a background in mental health. It aspires to be comprehensive, encompassing the neurobiological and psychological underpinnings of addiction, the process of assessment and guidelines for treatment. To facilitate this, the book is divided into three parts; ‘medical overview’, ‘diagnostic and treatment issues’ and ‘special topics’.
The format described above may suggest a lack of integration between research, assessment and treatment issues. Thankfully, this is not the case, and the reader is frequently surprised by the inventive juxtaposition of topics. For example, following immediately from a discussion of the various residential, outpatient and twelve-step interventions is an outline of motivational interviewing, and a discussion of counter-transference issues that can arise in substance abuse treatment. Thus, even the clinician involved solely in the assessment process, when onwards referral to the most appropriate agency is the main consideration, is potentially alerted to these concepts. This challenges them to reflect on aspects of their own interview style, the impact these may have on the patient, and any personal reasons for therapeutic pessimism.
The above suggests that the authors have considered carefully how best to present information in a way that will keep the reader interested, rather than adhere to a standard textbook format. This thoughtful approach to the book's structure is also evident elsewhere. Heritability of propensity for addiction problems is considered in the section on substance abuse in adolescence, for example, and the physical sequelae of alcohol abuse in the section concerning older adults. Clinical relevance is usefully assisted by the frequent use of case vignettes.
Though stated to be aimed at clinicians, the remit of this book is broad, and at times the target audience becomes a little unclear. For example, in the section on adolescent substance misuse much of the chapter consists of advice for parents on how to help a child with a substance abuse problem. This is, of course, potentially valuable information, and a resource many parents would be very glad of. However, overall, the book may be too clinical to be accessible for the concerned lay person, and the style of writing could have acknowledged the fact that this information will likely be filtered through a third party.
The North American origin of this book means that some sections, especially epidemiology and the specifics of clinical practice, are not directly applicable to the European reader. For example, ‘drinks’ are of course the standard US drink (13 g ethanol) whereas many European countries use a lower ‘unit’ (e.g. UK ‘unit’ contains 8 g), and there is frequent reference to health insurance considerations and American treatment protocols. These are expected differences, however, and do not significantly detract from the fact that this is an accessible, informative and generally very readable text.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||