A radical new approach to recovery—using methods proven more effective than medical treatment or twelve-step programs. Drawing on the latest research and detailed case studies, the authors expose the best-kept secrets in the recovery field: · Addictions—whether to food, cigarettes, sex, alcohol, or drugs—are not diseases, and they’re not necessarily lifelong problems. · Many more people give up addictions on their own than are helped by medical treatment or twelve-step programs. · Developing values, skills, and life resources enables people to quit addictions—and to shed the addict identity altogether. In their revolutionary “Life Process Program” for overcoming all kinds of addictions, the authors emphasize self-help and treatment through coping with stress and achieving one’s goals. As helpful as it is controversial, The Truth About Addiction and Recovery will forever change the way we view and treat addiction. “A classic.” —John Norcross, PhD, ABPP, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Scranton and author of Changing for Good

"This inspiring and penetrating new book by Dr. Sinor shows how we gather the courage and the force of will to make a transformational change."--Mark Thurston, Ph.D.

An eye-opening tour of the addiction treatment industry explores the gap between what should happen and what does What happens inside drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers and how rehab works are a mystery to those outside the industry – and sometimes even to those inside it. Anne M. Fletcher is a trusted New York Times bestselling health and medical writer who visited 15 addiction treatment centers—from outpatient programs for the indigent to famous celebrity rehabs; from the sites of renowned Twelve-Step centers to several unconventional programs—to find out what really happens. What she reveals ranges from inspirational to irresponsible, and, in some cases, potentially dangerous. Real Stories: As always with her books, Fletcher gets the inside story by turning to real people who “have been there,” interviewing more than 100 individuals whose compelling stories illustrate serious issues facing people in rehab and endemic in the rehab industry today. Connected Writer and Researcher who has earned the respect (and cooperation) of experts throughout the fields she’s taken on. Inside Rehab is no exception—Fletcher has interviewed more than 100 professionals working in the field, including a mix of rehab staffers and administrators as well as leading academics. Rehab is constantly covered in the media, as celebrities battle their drug and alcohol issues in the spotlight and reality TV puts recovery in prime time. Addiction is no longer only a personal struggle—it’s a pop culture phenomenon. Myth Busting: Fletcher exposes twelve supposed facts for the falsehoods they are, including “rehab is necessary for most people to recover from addictions;” “highly trained professionals provide most of the treatment in addiction programs;” and “drugs should not be used to treat a drug addict.” Fletcher’s most important finding is the alarming discrepancy between the treatments being employed at many rehab centers and the treatments recommended by leading experts and supported by scientific research. Guidance and Practical Solutions: Inside Rehab also highlights what is working, spotlights state-of-the-art programs and practices, and offers advice and guidance for people seeking quality care and treatment for themselves or those they care about. Inside Rehab is the first book to give readers a thoughtful, sensitive, and bracingly honest insider’s view of the drug and alcohol rehab industry in America. For people seeking quality care for themselves or a loved one, Inside Rehab is essential reading, offering a wealth of accurate information and wise guidance.

This groundbreaking book offers simple self-assessments, informative case histories, and concrete examples to help clarify each stage and process. Whether your goal is to start saving money, to stop drinking, or to end other self-defeating or addictive behaviors, this revolutionary program will help you implement positive personal change . . . for life. How many times have you thought about starting a diet or quitting smoking without doing anything about it? Or lapsed back into bad habits after hitting a rough spot on the road to recovery? To uncover the secret to successful personal change, three acclaimed psychologists studied more than 1,000 people who were able to positively and permanently alter their lives without psychotherapy. They discovered that change does not depend on luck or willpower. It is a process that can be successfully managed by anyone who understands how it works. Once you determine which stage of change you’re in, you can: create a climate where positive change can occur maintain motivation turn setbacks into progress make your new benefifificial habits a permanent part of your life The National Cancer Institute Found this program more than twice as effective as standard programs in helping smokers quit for 18 months.

Companionship for the lifelong journey of recovery In Addiction and Recovery: A Spiritual Pilgrimage, Martha Postlethwaite--pastor and a person in recovery--reflects on her pilgrimage of healing through valleys of despair and vistas of resurrection. Addiction and Recovery is not just Postlethwaite's story, though. She also draws on the wisdom of pilgrims who have walked other paths to explore themes such as surrender, truth telling, shame, powerlessness, grace, forgiveness, and resurrection. Together, these chronicles bring hope to people who struggle with the disease of addiction and to those who love them. Each chapter ends with questions to reflect on with conversation partners or in a journal, and a spiritual practice. The spiritual practices are related to the chapter themes and serve as samplers, but they can be woven into the reader's own pilgrimage. Readers will recognize themselves in these stories and reflections, learn that they are not alone, and find reasons to hope as they make their own pilgrimage.

Nobody has had an answer for why people with addictions continue to repeat them -- until now. For more than twenty years, distinguished psychiatrist Dr. Lance Dodes has been successfully helping people master their addictions -- alcoholism, compulsive gambling, smoking, sexual addiction, and more with a radical approach. Dr. Dodes describes how all addictions have, at their heart, unrecognized emotional factors that explain: Why we feel the impulse Why we feel it when we do What alternatives (really) work in that critical moment In this refreshing book filled with compelling case studies, Dr. Dodes debunks several such widely accepted myths as: Addictions are fundamentally a physical problem. People with addictions are different from other people. You have to hit bottom before you can get well. You are wasting your time if you ask "why" you have an addiction.

Whether you are battling drugs, nicotine, alcohol, food, shopping, sex, or gambling, this hands-on, practical guide will help you overcome addiction of any kind. If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction but do not find that twelve-step or other treatment programs work for you, 7 Tools to Beat Addiction can help. Internationally recognized expert Dr. Stanton Peele presents a program for addiction recovery based on research and clinical study and grounded in science. His program utilizes proven methods that people actually use to overcome addiction, with or without treatment. 7 Tools to Beat Addiction offers in-depth, interactive exercises that show you how to outgrow destructive habits by putting together the building blocks for a balanced, fulfilling, responsible life. Dr. Peele’s approach is founded on the following tools: • Values • Motivation • Rewards • Resources • Support • Maturity • Higher Goals This no-nonsense guide will put you in charge of your own recovery.

Through the vivid, true stories of five people who journeyed into and out of addiction, a renowned neuroscientist explains why the "disease model" of addiction is wrong and illuminates the path to recovery. The psychiatric establishment and rehab industry in the Western world have branded addiction a brain disease. But in The Biology of Desire, cognitive neuroscientist and former addict Marc Lewis makes a convincing case that addiction is not a disease, and shows why the disease model has become an obstacle to healing. Lewis reveals addiction as an unintended consequence of the brain doing what it's supposed to do-seek pleasure and relief-in a world that's not cooperating. As a result, most treatment based on the disease model fails. Lewis shows how treatment can be retooled to achieve lasting recovery. This is enlightening and optimistic reading for anyone who has wrestled with addiction either personally or professionally.

Up from Down is not a book about gloom and doom, but an inspirational book that offers hope to all who have faltered. Strung out on heroin, Ted Adamson began his journey with a SWAT team descending on a pharmacy to stop his wild rampage in search of drugs. From the cruelty in the county jail to race riots in state prison, the hard, gritty life of a drug addict is portrayed in all its real-world ugliness and despair. Join Ted as he gives us a picture of what the life of a junkie is really like. Look inside the dark side of drug treatment programs. From the bizarre therapies of the Synanon-like Family to the modern twelve-step programs, you will see what passes as treatment in the modern recovery movement. Up from Down takes readers to the depths of human degradation then brings them back through a journey of redemption.

Bestselling author and renowned Buddhist teacher Noah Levine adapts the Buddha's Four Noble Truths and Eight Fold Path into a proven and systematic approach to recovery from alcohol and drug addiction—an indispensable alternative to the 12-step program. While many desperately need the help of the 12-step recovery program, the traditional AA model's focus on an external higher power can alienate people who don't connect with its religious tenets. Refuge Recovery is a systematic method based on Buddhist principles, which integrates scientific, non-theistic, and psychological insight. Viewing addiction as cravings in the mind and body, Levine shows how a path of meditative awareness can alleviate those desires and ease suffering. Refuge Recovery includes daily meditation practices, written investigations that explore the causes and conditions of our addictions, and advice and inspiration for finding or creating a community to help you heal and awaken. Practical yet compassionate, Levine's successful Refuge Recovery system is designed for anyone interested in a non-theistic approach to recovery and requires no previous experience or knowledge of Buddhism or meditation.