The First Session with Substance Abusers: A Step-By-Step Guide Hardback - 2000 - 1st Edition

When asked who is the substance abuser, most people, including mental health professionals, readily conjure up stereo typical images: The raucous middle-aged man with a big belly, bulbous nose, and pasty skin, reeking of alcohol

In denial about their self-destructive behavior-and skilled at hiding it-substance abusers often survive a first psychotherapeutic session virtually undetected. In fact, it has been estimated that those suffering from substance abuse go undiagnosed 80 percent of the time during the initial clinical interview. As a result, instead of creating an alliance with their patients that permits acknowledgment and empathy for the underlying addiction, clinicians are all too often manipulated into recommAnding initial treatment that is misguided or inappropriate-unknowingly assisting patients in the continuation of their denial.Now there is an antidote. The First Session with Substance Abusers offers clinicians an innovative plan for conducting an initial session that has proven successful in unearthing substance abuse problems with even the most resistant and manipulative clients. Using the methods outlined in this book, mental health professionals can assess and evaluate the depth and duration of the substance abuse problem and motivate the client to seek the most appropriate approach for treatment-all within the first session.Written in straightforward language and with a healthy dose of humor, this much-needed resource is filled with the information, illustrative examples, and directions clinicians need to choose the most effective modality of treatment. The authors also reveal how to deal with issues of transference and countertransference, cope with inevitable crises, establish mutual goals, and make the necessary referrals crucial for the ongoing support of recovery.Authored by a father-and-daughter team of clinical psychologists, The First Session with Substance Abusers brings together Nicholas Cummings' more than forty years' experience working with substance abusers and Janet Cummings' expertise in molecular biology, genetics, and psychopharmacology. Together they have developed a classification of drug abuse that combines the physiological with the psy