The Complete Family Guide to Addiction: Everything You Need to Know Now to Help Your Loved One and Yourself

274 Pages·2019·1.978 MB·English

by  Thomas F Harrison, Hilary S Connery

ebook
THE GUILFORD PRESS
Praise for The Complete
Family Guide to Addiction
“Wow, someone finally gets it! As an addict with 13 years in
recovery, this book gives me so much insight into addiction,
codependency, and what I put my family through. It also reminds
me what people did that helped me, and what didn’t help. Every
family member or friend of an addict should read this book!
It brought back a lot of pain for me, but is so accurate and
enlightening. It will help you save your loved one without ruining
yourself in the process.” —Taffy L., San Rafael, California
“If you care about someone with an addiction, this is the book
you need. Families and friends often spend months or years of
frustration trying to figure out what addiction is and what they can
do about it. This highly practical book cuts right to the chase—
explaining the most current research and clinical experience in
plain English—and tells you everything you need to know.”
—Joseph P. Scholl, LICSW,
attending social worker, McLean Hospital
“This greatly needed book is packed with invaluable information for
loved ones of people who struggle with addiction. Often lost and
left by the wayside in addiction treatment, families are now taken
by the hand and offered understandable explanations of complex
concepts, presented in an unbiased way. The book’s compendium
of resources is remarkable.” —Anne M. Fletcher, MS, RDN,
author of Inside Rehab and Sober for Good
“Accessible and comprehensive, this book equips you with the latest
understanding of the shattering challenges of addiction. Whether
it is your grown child, spouse, or other loved one who is afflicted,
this book reveals the best ways to offer support.”
—Robert Miranda Jr., PhD, Department of Psychiatry
and Human Behavior, Brown University
“Families who are knowledgeable about addiction and its treatment
are in a better position to help the person they love. Without
‘taking sides,’ this easy-to-understand book describes a wide
range of treatment approaches and provides useful suggestions
and strategies for dealing with common issues. As an addiction
treatment specialist, I found many useful ideas for educating my
clients and their families.” —Oscar G. Bukstein, MD, MPH,
Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children’s Hospital
and Harvard Medical School
“Employing sensible, reader-friendly language, the authors give
us a comprehensive, evidence-based primer on addictions, the
challenges they pose for individuals and families, and the many
treatment modalities currently available.”
—Gabor Maté, MD, author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts:
Close Encounters with Addiction
THE COMPLETE FAMILY GUIDE
TO ADDICTION
Also Available
FOR PROFESSIONALS
Integrated Group Therapy for Bipolar Disorder
and Substance Abuse
Roger D. Weiss and Hilary S. Connery
THE COMPLETE
FAMILY GUIDE
TO ADDICTION
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW NOW
TO HELP YOUR LOVED ONE AND YOURSELF
THOMAS F. HARRISON
HILARY S. CONNERY, MD, PhD
THE GUILFORD PRESS
New York London
Copyright © 2019 The Guilford Press
A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc.
370 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1200, New York, NY 10001
www.guilford.com
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission
from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The information in this volume is not intended as a substitute for consultation
with healthcare professionals. Each individual’s health concerns should be
evaluated by a qualified professional.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Harrison, Thomas F., author. | Connery, Hilary Smith, author.
Title: The complete family guide to addiction : everything you need to know now
to help your loved one and yourself / Thomas F. Harrison, Hilary S. Connery.
Description: New York : The Guilford Press, [2019] | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018050165| ISBN 9781462538546 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781462539642 (hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Substance abuse. | Substance abuse—Family relationships. |
Substance abuse—Treatment. | BISAC: SELF-HELP / Substance Abuse &
Addictions / Alcoholism. | PSYCHOLOGY / Psychopathology / Addiction. |
MEDICAL / Mental Health. | SOCIAL SCIENCE / Social Work. | RELIGION /
Counseling.
Classification: LCC RC563 .H37 2019 | DDC 362.29—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018050165
Contents
Introduction: Family and Friends— 1
The First Responders to the Addiction Crisis
I. WHAT IS ADDICTION?
1. A Bewildering Illness 9
2. What Makes Someone an Addict, 12
as Opposed to a Heavy Drinker
or a Recreational User?
3. How Addiction Affects the Brain 15
4. Why Do Some People Become Addicts 21
and Others Don’t?
5. So Is Addiction a Disease? (and If Not, What Is It?) 29
6. Why Do People Get Addicted 34
to One Particular Substance and Not Others?
7. What About Gambling Addiction, 40
Sex Addiction, Etc.?
v
vi Contents
II. LIVING WITH AN ADDICT
8. How Addicts Behave 45
9. How Loved Ones Are Affected 53
10. Denial, Enabling, and Codependency 61
11. The Stigma of Addiction 69
12. Strategies to Get a Loved One into Treatment 73
13. How to Cope When a Loved One 87
Is Refusing Treatment
14. Dealing with a Child Who Is an Addict 92
15. Dealing with a Spouse Who Is an Addict 100
16. Dealing with a Parent Who Is an Addict 106
III. KEEPING AN ADDICT OUT OF TROUBLE
17. Can an Employee Be Fired for Having an Addiction? 113
18. Drug Courts and Other Ways to Keep 123
an Addict Out of Jail
19. Using Civil Commitment to Keep 130
an Addict Safe
2 0. More Ways to Protect an Addict from Harm 135
IV. HOW TREATMENT WORKS
21. Can Addicts Get Well without Treatment? 147
22. A Brief Overview of Treatment Options 150
23. What Really Happens in Detox? 153
2 4. What Really Happens in Rehab? 156