Alcohol Problems: Practice Interventions

by

Katherine van Wormer

Introduction

Since America’s war on drugs got under way in the 1980s, the government’s attention has been predominantly on illicit drugs and only minimally on alcohol problems. Yet it is the legal drug alcohol that is associated with the majority of substance-abuse problems in American society, most notably alcohol-related traffic fatalities, child abuse and neglect, fetal alcohol syndrome, and violence. This entry identifies treatment resources from the fields of social work, psychology, and counseling with specific relevance to alcoholism treatment. Government resources available over the Internet are identified as well. An emphasis is placed on treatment interventions that are empirically based and that have served the test of time. Because European treatment approaches are different from those in the United States, where the disease model predominates, every effort has been made to include European and Australian sources written in English. The readings in this bibliography on issues related to alcoholism treatment cover matters including the history of alcohol use, biological aspects of alcohol misuse, harm reduction, and binge drinking.

Introductory Works

Many excellent references provide a foundation for knowledge about the state of alcoholism treatment. The reader will learn from the following resources that a wide range of treatment models is available, and some disagreement exists among writers within the United States as well as globally concerning which model is the most effective. Loosening the Grip (Kinney 2009), a popularized book by Jean Kinney, offers a good deal of factual information about the biology of alcohol and is therefore a good place to start for an overview of the impact of alcoholism. Instructors would want to consult the modules organized by Audrey I. Begun (Begun 2004) and available through the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

• Begun, Audrey I., ed. 2004. Social work education for the prevention and treatment of alcohol use disorders. Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

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  Available online, this downloadable collection fulfills its purpose of infusing empirical knowledge regarding alcohol use disorders into the social work curricula. Modules are provided for work with various populations, such as adolescents and families.

• Glidden-Tracey, Cynthia. 2005. Counseling and therapy with clients who abuse alcohol or other drugs: An integrative approach. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

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  Although little attention is given to cultural diversity in this book, the author provides a concise and useful synthesis of emerging treatment approaches. That mental health and substance abuse treatment should be integrated is a major argument.

• Home Box Office (HBO). 2007. Addiction: Centerpiece documentary.

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  This documentary is the centerpiece of the nine films that make up the Addiction Project. Segments on the brain and interviews with well-known scientists and specialists in alcoholism and other forms of drug abuse have been directed and produced by award-winning filmmakers and experts in the field.

• Kinney, Jean. 2009. Loosening the grip: A handbook of alcohol information. 9th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

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  This user-friendly book, highlighted with cartoon drawings, provides an excellent introduction to facts that alcoholism counselors need to know.

• National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA). 2008. Helping patients who drink too much. Washington, DC: NIAAA.

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  This new, interactive video training program uses evidence-based techniques to teach counselors effective strategies. Short ten-minute sessions of case scenarios engage the viewers in learning exercises. It can be viewed online free of charge.

• Wallace, Barbara C. 2005. Making mandated addiction treatment work. Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.

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  Evidence-based research, criminal justice statistics, integrated theory, dynamic case vignettes, public health perspectives, a menu of treatment, and practice guidelines are all in this overview of modern U.S. substance abuse treatment.