Synopsis:
Therapists are in the freedom business. This is the message that Jerome D. Levin brings in his marvelous work about the role therapists must play as guides, mentors, and facilitators on the patientOs journey from the slavery of addiction to the freedom of recovery. Understanding addiction, demonstrating its dynamics, and developing and conveying treatment approaches, require multiple perspectives. Levin reminds us that therapists are an at-risk group for chemical and behavioral addictions. He suggests protective measures such as living our lives with sufficient balance so as to keep addiction, whether to substances or work, at bay. Scholarly yet lively, this is a brilliant tour de force by a master clinician.
Review:
This brilliant book is many things: a training manual for substance abuse counselors; an integrative presentation of therapeutic methods, illustrated by fictional and case history narratives; a cultural and philosophical analysis of the multiple causes of addiction. By empathically analyzing the humanness of addiction, Jerome Levin's Therapeutic Strategies for Treating Addiction illuminates the human condition.--Jane Lilienfeld, Ph.D., author of Reading Alcoholisms
In this extraordinary book, Dr. Levin uses rich case vignettes, practical guides, and useful theoretical models to guide the reader in understanding our patients' addictive involvements. He astutely explores the complexities of patients' enslavements to drugs, and shows how our treatment paradigms, more than anything, must be about enabling freedom from the compulsion to use and remain dependent on substances of abuse. Jerome Levin's erudition shines through with rich metaphors and wise guidance. He figures out what fits theoretically and clinically so we may align ourselves with our patients and choose strategies for their therapeutic benefit.--Edward J. Khantzian, M.D., Harvard Medical School at Tewksbury
Jerome Levin's book Therapeutic Strategies for Treating Addiction is a joyful romp of an encyclopedia. Dr. Levin combines an erudite history of the theory and therapy of addictions with philosophy, fiction, and his own playful, teasing, and learned view of treating addictions in all their variations. His integration of methodologies from behavioral to psychodynamic, from the use of the telephone, to family therapy offers a rare combination of wisdom and experience, serious study, and playful exploration. Anyone who attempts the almost impossible job of treating addictions should have this engaging, provocative, stimulating, and entertaining book by their side.--David E. Scharff, M.D., International Psychotherapy Institute and the IPA Committee on Family and Couple Psychoanalysis
Dr. Levin has combined scholarship, wit, and clinical wisdom to address the major issues in addiction treatment. His text offers a lucid portrayal of the relevant subtleties of psychology and social history, and thereby gives the reader a grounding in this very important area of clinical work. This book can be useful to anyone working with people who abuse substances.--Marc Galantar, New York University School of Medicine, M.D., professor of psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine
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