Addiction Psychotherapy Resources

[Tangerine123]

PGY2 here

For various reasons, I was involuntary assigned to our addictions ward for 6 more months. The first 6 months that I rotated there I focused on research and other academic things. I did fine with the medical/pharmacological aspect of addiction medicine. But I didn't really do anything related to psychotherapy and left that instead to the ward's psychologists.

This time around I want to emphasize psychotherapy. Any good books or resources?

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[Fan_of_Meehl]

Treating Addiction is a good text. It is now in its 2nd edition. Also, of course, you can't go wrong with any motivational interviewing text.

Amazon product

 

[soporific]

I've been recommended "White Knuckles and Wishful Thinking". :Motivational Interviewing" by Miller and Rollnick was also helpful.

 

[deleted1162863]

Recommend finding yourself a devastating addiction of some sort and then battling your way out of it to gain understanding.

 

[bashir]

Recommend finding yourself a devastating addiction of some sort and then battling your way out of it to gain understanding.

This made me chuckle. I second the Miller and Rollnik rec. Can't say I have read any other MI text but when the MI bible is so well written and readable I don't really know why you would. I try to reread it every couple of years.

An alternative to falling into addiction yourself, if you want to understand addiction better, is reading fiction. I highly recommend Demon Copperhead. I felt like I had a pretty good understanding of the complex factors that lead to addiction but something clicked for me that hadn't before, reading that book. Plus it's just a damn good book.

 

[deleted1162863]

This made me chuckle. I second the Miller and Rollnik rec. Can't say I have read any other MI text but when the MI bible is so well written and readable I don't really know why you would. I try to reread it every couple of years.

An alternative to falling into addiction yourself, if you want to understand addiction better, is reading fiction. I highly recommend Demon Copperhead. I felt like I had a pretty good understanding of the complex factors that lead to addiction but something clicked for me that hadn't before, reading that book. Plus it's just a damn good book.

Glad it was understood to be tongue in cheek, but perhaps most of us have, to some degree, an addiction of some sort and reflecting on that could be helpful as perhaps one aspect of understanding what to discuss in talk therapy. Just a thought.

 

[smalltownpsych]

Glad it was understood to be tongue in cheek, but perhaps most of us have, to some degree, an addiction of some sort and reflecting on that could be helpful as perhaps one aspect of understanding what to discuss in talk therapy. Just a thought.

It can help to gain insight, but don’t make the mistake I have seen of equating eating a few too many donuts or bad habits with life threatening addictions and telling patients that you don’t want to be that doc. 😉

 

[deleted1162863]

It can help to gain insight, but don’t make the mistake I have seen of equating eating a few too many donuts or bad habits with life threatening addictions and telling patients that you don’t want to be that doc. 😉

Great point, thanks.

 

[tr]

Agree with above recs for Miller and Rollnick. A must read for any health professional, really.

 

[Ceke2002]

This made me chuckle. I second the Miller and Rollnik rec. Can't say I have read any other MI text but when the MI bible is so well written and readable I don't really know why you would. I try to reread it every couple of years.

An alternative to falling into addiction yourself, if you want to understand addiction better, is reading fiction. I highly recommend Demon Copperhead. I felt like I had a pretty good understanding of the complex factors that lead to addiction but something clicked for me that hadn't before, reading that book. Plus it's just a damn good book.

If anyone's looking for a film that depicts addiction fairly accurately, I highly recommend 'The Panic in Needle Park' from 1971. One of the only films on heroin addiction I've scene that actually shows the 'groundhog day' like tediousness of addiction. The book 'Christiane F: Wir Kinder Von Bahnhoff Zoo' (there is an English translation) is worth a read as well.