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Methamphetamine, made easily in clandestine labs from over-the-counter ingredients, can cause depression, rapid tooth decay, psychosis, sensations of flesh crawling with bugs, paranoia, skin lesions, and kidney damage. Still, use has spread nationwide. In this work, two experts on methamphetamine addiction and recovery explain why this drug has such a physical, psychological, and social draw for addicts, despite all the damage it causes. Vignettes from addicts take us inside the subculture of meth users. Authors Taylor and Covey explain why this drug and its addiction is different from other illicit drugs and why, therefore, the treatment needs to be specifically tailored in order to be effective.Stephan Jenkins, singer for the band Third Eye Blind, says methamphetamine makes you feel bright and shiny, but it also makes you pathetically and relentlessly self-destructive, so much so that you will do unconscionable things to feel bright and shiny again. This drug, made easily in clandestine labs from over-the-counter ingredients, can also cause depression, rapid tooth decay, psychosis, sensations of flesh crawling with bugs, paranoia, skin lesions, and kidney damage. Still, use has spread nationwide from California to Maine, with known addictions now highest in the West, Midwest, and South. Treatment admissions for methamphetamine addictions have increased more than fivefold in the last decade, with a federal report in 2006 showing 136,000 known cases. Meth is particularly addictive to women because it causes rapid weight loss. The results, as shown in recent cover stories in Newsweek, National Geographic, and USA Today, are pain for far more than the abuser. Meth addiction also ravages life for spouses, children, and other family members, as well as communities.In this work, two experts on methamphetamine addiction and recovery explain why this drug has such a physical, psychological, and social draw for addicts despite all the damage it causes. Vignettes from addicts let us see inside the subculture of meth users. Authors Taylor and Covey explain why this drug and its addiction is different from other illicit drugs, and therefore why the treatment needs to be specifically tailored in order to be effective. This book, focused only on the addiction avenues and paths to recovery, is a perfect companion to Covey's earlier book, The Metehamphetamine Crisis (Praeger, 2006), which details the emergence and history of this drug use in the United States, as well as the social and community effects, and criminal justice approaches, successes, and failures to date. This book at hand will appeal to meth abusers, their families, and professionals trying to aid recovery from this new scourge, including substance abuse treatment providers, health professionals, psychologists, school personnel, and criminal justice staff.

Time-effective intervention and prevention tools for dealing with addictionAddiction, Assessment, and Treatment with Adolescents, Adults, and Families examines addiction concerns ranging from prevention to relapse, offering effective intervention techniques and assessment tools to ensure delivery of the best possible service to clients who represent a variety of populations and mental health issues. Leading addiction researchers address new developments in theory, methodology, treatment, and assessment on counselor beliefs, contingency management, group treatment, rapid assessment instruments, behavioral couples therapy (BCT), family-based intervention, motivational interviewing, and 12-step programs and faith-based recovery. This essential professional and academic resource presents case studies, reviews, research findings, and empirical papers that offer unique perspectives on a variety of topics, including evidenced-based practice, theory of reasoned action, harm reduction, juvenile justice, and treatment outcomes.Addiction, Assessment, and Treatment with Adolescents, Adults, and Families presents sophisticated, cutting-edge theory and practice concepts that provide professionals, practitioners, and educators with a more varied focus than most current available books on addiction. Counselors working in mental health settings and EAP programs, psychiatric nurses working in hospitals and outpatient settings, social workers, and students pursuing degrees in social work, nursing, psychology, and criminal justice will benefit from the book's wide range of appropriate addiction, treatment, and prevention methodologies.Topics addressed in Addiction, Assessment, and Treatment with Adolescents, Adults, and Families include: understanding the gap between research and practice in substance abuse counseling prevalence and patterns of illicit drug use among juvenile offenders the relationship between the reported substance abuse of African-American and Hispanic youth and their perceived attachments with their primary caregivers using a harm reduction approach to the evaluation of treatment outcomes using a nonconfrontational approach to substance abuse counseling when addressing client denial why contingency management interventions are underutilized, especially in community settings how to determine if and when Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Adapted Motivational Interviewing (AMI) are effective how to use nonabstinence-based prevention services in working with adolescents how to use and score the K6 scale to screen serious mental illnesses how to use Receiver Operating Characteristics analysis to evaluate rapid assessment instrumentsAddiction, Assessment, and Treatment with Adolescents, Adults, and Families is a vital professional resource and an invaluable aid to adults, adolescents, and families of anyone suffering with some level of addiction.