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I recall during my early years as a clinical psychologist being asked by hospital staff to speak with a 32-year-old man addicted to alcohol who was being discharged following treatment for pancreatitis. This had been his third admission for the same illness, and hospital practitioners were exasperated by his choice to continue dri- ing despite being repeatedly told it would cause irreparable damage to his pancreas from which he would be unlikely to survive. I met him in a side-room on the ward. He sat in his pyjamas in the corner of the room, thin and ashen looking, with a worried frown fixed across his face. Our conversation was initially stilted and I was trying hard not to replicate the lectures and sermons he was likely to have already received from hospital staff. As we talked I was able to piece together bits of inf- mation about his current circumstances: he lived alone, he was unemployed, and his only family contact was with a brother who visited to check on him occasionally. He started to relax into the conversation and then talked about his long struggles with alcohol: his drinking had begun in his early teens; it had provided him with con- dence and friendships; he had had some serious motor vehicle accidents; he had tried to stop drinking but soon continued; he had lost friends, jobs, and family re- tionships; and in response he had increasingly sought intoxication as a refuge.

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CHOICE Review

Understanding of addiction is developing at a rapid pace. Much of this new information focuses on biological and neurological factors. Adams provides a refreshing, needed analysis that complements new scientific discoveries; he goes beyond biological and neuropsychological explanations to explore the reciprocal influences of social context and addiction. The view that intimacy problems are a part of the addiction process is not new, but Adams's coverage is novel, and the book is more comprehensive than previous works have been. He offers a solid theory and integrates empirical support throughout his discussion. A thorough analysis of how and why one can and should understand addiction as a social event precedes sections that provide information on how this perspective can guide addiction treatment. A welcome extension of such studies as Carlo DiClemente's outstanding Addiction and Change (CH, Dec'03, 41-2484) and Mindfulness and Acceptance, ed. by Steven Hayes, Victoria Follette, and Marsha Linehan (CH, Jul'05, 42-6797), this volume can serve as a library resource, a textbook, or a clinical manual. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers, all levels. M. Bonner Peru State College

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

Peter Adams has a practice background in clinical psychology and an academic background in critical social theory. He is currently Director of Social and Community Health at the School of Population Health, Auckland University, Auckland, New Zealand. He has developed and taught in postgraduate programs on addictions for the past ten years. Ideas for the book evolved from his 25-year involvement in research, teaching, and clinical intervention involving different aspects of addiction.