M. Sobell

For many years, what has been known about recovery from addictive behaviors has come solely from treatment studies. Only recently has the study of recoveries in the absence of formal treatment or self-help groups provided an alternative source of information. This book on the process of self-change from addictive behaviors is the first of its kind, as it presents more than research findings. Rather, it presents the process of self-change from several different perspectives - environmental, cross-cultural, prevention and interventions at both societal and individual level. It provides strategies for how health care practitioners and government policy makers alike can aid and foster self-change. Directions for future research priorities are also presented.

For many years, what has been known about recovery from addictive behaviors has come solely from treatment studies. Only recently has the study of recoveries in the absence of formal treatment or self-help groups provided an alternative source of information. This book on the process of self-change from addictive behaviors is the first of its kind, as it presents more than research findings. Rather, it presents the process of self-change from several different perspectives - environmental, cross-cultural, prevention and interventions at both societal and individual level. It provides strategies for how health care practitioners and government policy makers alike can aid and foster self-change. Directions for future research priorities are also presented.

Ideas about the nature of alcohol problems have been undergoing dramatic change over the past several years. This book summarizes the clinical research we have conducted over the past eight years; research which has evoked controversy and which, we hope, will be evaluated as having been influential in the development of a scientific approach to the clinical treatment of alcohol problems. Although we reference many studies from the general behavioral literature on alcohol problems, we make no pretense of presenting a thorough review of that literature. By and large, this book focuses on the research we have conducted, the rationale for that approach, and a detailed discussion of methods and results which cannot be presented in journal articles. The book begins by giving the reader a perspective on traditional concepts in the alcohol field, and why those concepts are now being challenged. Within that conceptual framework, we then trace the development and sophistication of our clinical research, presenting for the first time in a single work a complete consideration of the rationale, methods, and results of the study of Individualized Be­ havior Therapy (IBT) for alcoholics. Following a discussion of many of the more subtle aspects of that study and its results, we describe how IBT can be used in an outpatient setting-the setting in which we have conducted clinical research for the last six years.