Addiction Treatment Magazine

There were many in the mid-1880s who believed that the ban of alcoholic beverages would eliminate a number of problems in the United States. This belief was so strong among women that the temperance movement led to the 1874 creation of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, setting the stage for the establishment of the Anti-Saloon [...]

As the population of the United States becomes more diverse, healthcare facilities must grow and adapt to the needs of the different subgroups of Americans. One important area that policymakers must address according to the needs of the community is substance abuse treatment.

As an anthropologist, I know of no culture anywhere on earth that has not used either alcohol, or hallucinogenic substances, or other plant-derived concoctions to create altered states of mind. Most of the time, these uses do not result in addiction, or even in regular drunkenness.

Anyone who’s heard of Alcoholics Anonymous knows the name of Bill W., one of the co-founders of the organization, along with Dr. Bob. But the story of Bill W. or, better yet, the story of Lois Wilson, Bill’s wife, is little known. But watch the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie – When Love Is Not [...]

Walk a while in Mary Sojourner’s shoes (She Bets Her Life: A True Story of Gambling Addiction) and you’ll quickly realize what a slippery slope gambling addiction is – especially for women. Written from personal experience, the book is at all times brutally honest, and alternately funny, heartbreaking, warm and wise. The author takes readers [...]

Science writer Dirk Hanson takes readers on a journey of understanding about addiction in The Chemical Carousel: What Science Tells Us About Beating Addiction. In a conversational tone, Hanson acts as teacher and storyteller as he sheds considerable light on the still-largely unknown field of addiction science. Some may wonder that there actually is such [...]

Most myths and statements about alcohol fall into the macho category. That is, they’re usually boastful and don’t have much truth to them. Some, in fact, are downright false. Sadly, myths about drinking perpetuate, passed along by word of mouth and embellished to the point where it’s difficult to separate fact from fiction. Here are [...]

Various forms of religion attempt to handle life’s difficulties through such practices as prayer, meditation and reflection. But does the presence of religion in a person’s life work against problems such as an alcohol use disorder, or could the presence of religion actually contribute to an alcohol use disorder?

Everyone needs heroes, men and women whom we look up to for inspiration, role-modeling and guidance. Our first impressions of heroes likely stem from our families, with our parents being our first recognized heroes. That’s as it should be, since our parents are the ones who nurture us, keep us from harm, give us unending [...]