Addiction Today

NO NEED FOR WEED

by James Langton

Published by Clearhead at £9.99; 232 pages

ISBN 978-0-9557626-0-4

No Need For Weed comes over as an honest account of how it really is to break the habit of cannabis dependency. It is punctuated with real-lfie experiences which make sense of the process and is believable and recognisable.

This is a useful tool for anyone concerned about problematic and chronic cannabis use and associated difficulties in young people. It is an account of how reality is for someone attempting to quit cannabis. It leads readers step by step, and explores the thoughts and dilemmas experienced by others. When it looks like those experiences will be too hard for a person, it acknowledges them and offers solutions.

The authors accept the failings of people and that, more often than not, some will slip back into dependency - but it encourages them to battle on to success. I believe this is a book which crosses the boundaries between professionals and users and that both will find it a useful tool, to aid people to break away from cannabis dependency.

As both a mother of a recovering cannabis-dependent son and a professional working with young people, I shall refer to the book and website on a regular basis for ideas and support.

DEBBIE DICKSON is the 'named nurse for looked-after children' in Bradford. She is "championing professionals to take seriously what might first appear to be unproblematic cannabis use in young children" - it often turns out not to be unproblematic.

BOOKS IN THE FAR-RIGHT COLUMN WERE REVIEWED...

... in the January/February issue of Addiction Today journal. To be ahead of the rest and get regular previews, simply subscribe.

THE SCIENCE OF ADDICTION

by Carlton Erickson

Published by WW Norton at £19.95. 292 pages.

ISBN 978-0-393-70463-1.

I MUST CONFESS TO KNOWING Professor Carlton Erickson: I first heard him speak in the US and was so impressed that I invited him to be a key presenter at the inaugural UK/European Symposium on Addictive Disorders in 2004 – due to demand, he returned in 2006.

Even personalities who had worked in this field for decades told me afterwards that his lecture was the first time they could understand the difference between addiction/ dependency and abuse/misuse. So I was looking forward to receiving this book, and was not disappointed. I can unreservedly recommend this book to anyone, professional or general public, who has any interest in addiction.

Scientists tend to blame treatment professionals for not taking time to read the latest scientific literature or to attend educational science lectures. Treatment professionals tell the scientists that they are boring and use confusing jargon. Government sometimes tries to get the two sides together. Erickson is one of the few people in this world who not only has the ability but also the interest and love to be a scientific spokesperson who feels comfortable helping counsellors, treatment and other health professionals as well as lawyers and administrators to become excited about addiction science.

"Given the likelihood that there will never be enough studies in addiction science to be totally convincing, the science that best matches the 'voices of the afflicted' is most useful," he writes. "Listening to people who live the problem is a great way to come up with hypotheses to test." He can be confident only when evidence-based and practice-based findings consolidate each other.

10 chapters cover terminology and characterisation of "addiction", the basics of brain science, anatomy and neurobiology of chemical dependence, genetics, stimulants and depressants, alcohol, other drugs, treatment, the power and limitations of addiction research, and evidence-based research for the future. There are appendices, references and a glossary.

The subject matter demands concentration from readers, but the information is written in an easy-to-read style. The thoroughness with which Erickson covers his topics can be illustrated in, for example, the chapter on treatment.

This covers the philosophy of "dependence disease treatment", placebo (expectancy) effects,
12-step programmes, interactional and behaviour-therapy, methadone, buprenorphine, harm reduction, moderation management, faith-based treatment, vouchers, detoxification, anti-craving drugs, anti-smoking therapies and drugs, new developments such as vaccines, the need for painkillers, comorbid mental disorders and "chronic care".

Deirdre Boyd is editor of Addiction Today

by Carlton Erickson

Published by WW Norton at £19.95. 292 pages.

ISBN 978-0-393-70463-1.

I MUST CONFESS TO KNOWING Professor Carlton Erickson: I first heard him speak in the US and was so impressed that I invited him to be a key presenter at the inaugural UK/European Symposium on Addictive Disorders in 2004 – due to demand, he returned in 2006.

Even personalities who had worked in this field for decades told me afterwards that his lecture was the first time they could understand the difference between addiction/ dependency and abuse/misuse. So I was looking forward to receiving this book, and was not disappointed. I can unreservedly recommend this book to anyone, professional or general public, who has any interest in addiction.

Scientists tend to blame treatment professionals for not taking time to read the latest scientific literature or to attend educational science lectures. Treatment professionals tell the scientists that they are boring and use confusing jargon. Government sometimes tries to get the two sides together. Erickson is one of the few people in this world who not only has the ability but also the interest and love to be a scientific spokesperson who feels comfortable helping counsellors, treatment and other health professionals as well as lawyers and administrators to become excited about addiction science.

"Given the likelihood that there will never be enough studies in addiction science to be totally convincing, the science that best matches the 'voices of the afflicted' is most useful," he writes. "Listening to people who live the problem is a great way to come up with hypotheses to test." He can be confident only when evidence-based and practice-based findings consolidate each other.

10 chapters cover terminology and characterisation of "addiction", the basics of brain science, anatomy and neurobiology of chemical dependence, genetics, stimulants and depressants, alcohol, other drugs, treatment, the power and limitations of addiction research, and evidence-based research for the future. There are appendices, references and a glossary.

The subject matter demands concentration from readers, but the information is written in an easy-to-read style. The thoroughness with which Erickson covers his topics can be illustrated in, for example, the chapter on treatment.

This covers the philosophy of "dependence disease treatment", placebo (expectancy) effects,
12-step programmes, interactional and behaviour-therapy, methadone, buprenorphine, harm reduction, moderation management, faith-based treatment, vouchers, detoxification, anti-craving drugs, anti-smoking therapies and drugs, new developments such as vaccines, the need for painkillers, comorbid mental disorders and "chronic care".

Deirdre Boyd is editor of Addiction Today

HOMELESS EXPERIENCES, IDENTITIES AND CULTURES

edited by Mike Seal

Published by Russell House at £19.95. 183 pages.
ISBN 978-1-905541-06-05.

academics, service users, practitioners and other stakeholders challenge stereotypes of homeless identities. They examine how being passed through the many systems dealing with homelessness can become a very part of the identity of those who are homeless. Readers learn how this happens and implications for the process of change in both the individual and the practitioner and agency response. Seal also promotes a greater awareness of a professional identity for workers in the field.

I approached this useful, topical book from the perspective of being a provider of abstinence-based residential and day programme services for severely dependent drinkers and with a growing awareness and understanding of the essential need to address housing – as well as education/training and employment – as part of any well-constructed care plan to help clients maintain treatment gains. This book gives often-challenging learning and information for anyone working with the homeless or, indeed, in any context where housing is an issue. The authors' agenda for action will involve all who read it.

Simon Nicolle MSc MA MBACP (accred) is treatment director at Mount Carmel treatment centre in Streatham, London

MANUAL OF SMOKING CESSATION

by Andy McEwen, Peter Hajek, Hayden McRobbie, Robert West

Published by Blackwell at £19.99. 151 pages.

ISBN 10: 1-40513-337-7.

How appropriate – in these days of changing laws about smoking in public areas, and the acknowledgement by governments and health professionals alike that smoking is drug addiction – that this book should appear for review.

The National Institute of Drug Addiction in the US published a research paper in 1998 and revised it last year. This states that nicotine is one of the hardest drugs to kick, and probably the most abused.

Recovery from nicotine abuse is, as with all addictive substances and behaviours, a process and prone to relapse. This book offers a sound cognitive evidence-based system of stopping and staying stopped from a major addictive illness.

As someone who has worked in both first- and second-stage addiction-treatment facilities,
I believe that smoking cessation is vital for a solid recovery.

The authors show the damage which smoking does to organs, to the body holistically, and how the effect of smoking restricts and shortens people’s lives. It is not a threatening book, more a discussion as to the pros and cons of a major lifestyle change.

Richard C Renson AdvDipCoun, NCAC is a psychotherapist working with people with addictive behaviours; he works with Priory Healthcare.

WALKING INTO ETERNITY

by David Agnew

Published by Flux Gallery at £15.50. 56 pages & CD.

ISBN 0-9550158-2-0.

THE BOOK AND ACCOMPANYING CD chart the author's journey from the despair of rock-bottom addiction, through the pain and out the other side to recovery. Anyone with experience of addiction or who works in the field of recovery will find insight, comfort, truth and laughter here. Agnew's short, sparse verse gets straight to the point as he describes the highways and byways of life, addiction and recovery. His rich Irish voice contains every emotion, dark depth and joyful height, as he journals from the early days of emerging from despair. The message is clear: it is hard, it is tough but keep going, persevere, do the work and trust – you will come through. He unfolds his journey into recovery, the glimpses of something better, and growing hope as his strength and health return. The message changes as his life expands from a simple yearning for freedom from addiction into a richer full life, with all its high and lows, one day at a time. To be moved and re-inspired as a professional, or on your own personal journey, I recommend this book and CD wholeheartedly.

The CD is particularly relevant for people in early recovery who might struggle with the written word.

Jane Sleven LMG couns BWY Dip teaches yoga, meditation and life skills in Bristol and the UK as well as India and Egypt

CLINICAL HANDBOOK OF CO-EXISTING MENTAL HEALTH & DRUG & ALCOHOL PROBLEMS

by Amanda Baker, Richard Velleman

Published by Routledge at £27.99. 402 pages.

ISBN 978-1-59391-776-3.

co-existing mental health and drug and alcohol problems are a frequent occurrence in primary care and clinical settings. Despite this, health professionals receive limited training in how to detect, assess and formulate interventions for such clients, and few clinical guidelines exist. This handbook aims to redress this, with treatment plans, medications for dual disorders, and cognitive-therapy approaches. The book also explores relatively uncharted areas such as approaches to working with isolated, rural populations.

There are clear guidelines for developing integrated treatment programmes, doing assessments and implementing a wide range of individual, group and family interventions, as well as case studies demonstrating these.

Residential and other housing services, involuntary interventions, vocational rehabilitation, and psychopharmacology for dual disorders are also covered.

This handbook will increase clinicians' confidence in working with people with co-existing problems, and is an ideal resource for counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and many working in primary care.

Caroline Morris MA is chief verifier for OCR for the Health and Social Care Suite of NVQs, incorporating Drugs and Alcohol National Standards (Danos).