What Is Valued in Gay and Lesbian Specific Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment?

Little is known about what gay and lesbian clients value about culturally specific alcohol and other drug treatment programs. This study involves a sample of clinical staff and former clients (N = 40) of four culturally specific alcohol and other drug treatment programs to clarify what is addressed and deemed valuable for the specific needs of gay and lesbian clients. Through the lens of the recovery capital conceptual framework, this qualitative research emphasizes resiliency and the supports necessary for long-term recovery. Results indicate three major themes that make this type of treatment valuable: (1) a separate treatment unit or facility, (2) a safe and supportive therapeutic milieu, and (3) specific tailored treatment approaches. Findings are discussed to include implications for ways to improve services for this all too often understudied population of potentially vulnerable individuals who can benefit from culturally sensitive care.     

When Adoption Is Not an Option: Counseling Implications Related to Surrogacy

Through the author's personal story, this article details a case in which traditional conception and adoption were not options available for starting a family. It gives the author's rational for choosing surrogacy and describes his experience with surrogacy. This article provides an overview of the surrogacy process and concludes with implications counselors may consider and apply to their clinical practice.     

Physical Activity as a Helpful Adjunct to Substance Abuse Treatment

ABSTRACT

While limited research exists on the topic of physical activity as an adjunct to substance abuse treatment, a review of relevant multidisciplinary literature indicates a logical rationale for its potential benefits to recovery from addiction. This article provides an overview of common variables that contribute to addictive disease and summarizes the relationship of regular physical activity to improvements on many of these variables. The stages of change from the Transtheoretical Model (TTM, Prochaska & DiClemente, 1982; Prochaska & Velicer, 1997) are described in the context of effectively matching clients in substance abuse therapy to interventions that may include physical activity. Finally, important practical suggestions for implementing physical activity as a useful adjunct to substance abuse treatment are provided.     

诗歌疗效:诗人心灵的自我救赎——以左思《咏史》八首为例

文学作品对人身心有治疗的功效,这表现在两个方面:一方面是治疗他人,即读者;另一方面,治疗作者本人。诗人作家们在人生不得志的情况下,总倾情于诗文,寄情于创作活动,将心中的所想所感抒发出来,把内心的牢骚喷发在纸笔上,以此寄托自己的情感,而在这一创作过程中,他们的心灵慢慢得到调解,不快之感缓缓得到释然,于是,最终达到了恬静淡然的心理状态,回归到静谧的心灵家园。左思和他的《咏史》八首,折射出他在创作中的心路历程,折射出古代诗人在文学创作活动中心灵的自我治疗功效。     

Evidence-based treatments for trauma among culturally diverse foster care youth: Treatment retention and outcomes

This study describes the implementation of three evidence-based treatments addressing traumatic stress symptoms within a wraparound foster care program in Illinois. Child–Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS) were implemented with a racially diverse sample of youth ages 3–18 at six agencies. Culturally sensitive adaptations were made to treatment approaches to improve client retention and outcomes. Data analyses revealed no racial differences in retention in the program and no differences in outcomes between minority youth exposed to the intervention and other participants. All three evidence-based treatments were effective in reducing symptoms and improving functioning among minority youth. Implementation issues, including challenges and culturally competent accommodations, are discussed.     

Co-Occurring Substance Use and Personality Disorders: Current Thinking on Etiology,Diagnosis, and Treatment

ABSTRACT

Despite the high prevalence of personality disorders among substance abusing individuals, the literature on these co-occurring disorders is limited. This paper reviews the literature and provides the most current data on the demographics, the criteria for diagnosing both personality disorders and substance use disorders, and the effects of substance abuse and co-occurring personality disorders, particularly antisocial and borderline, on prognoses and treatment approaches. Recommendations for further research on these co-occurring disorders are provided.     

Psychotherapy with Alcoholic Patients

Abstract

This paper demonstrates how use of the empathic mode in outpatient psychotherapy helped an alcoholic patient reduce his denial of the severity of his illness. Both the general psychoanalytic literature and, in particular, the self psychology literature concerning treatment of alcoholics is reviewed and evaluated. This paper also examines in depth how the empathic mode functions to promote selfobject transferences, which facilitate internalization processes that may lead to a reduction in the alcoholic patient's need to rigidly maintain his denial of the illness. The complexity of the relationship between alcoholism self-help groups and the professional psychotherapy community is also explored.     

Counseling for the Family: The Neglected Aspect of Addiction Treatment in Canada

ABSTRACT

There has been a historic neglect of both research and practice in the area of counselling for the family members of alcohol or other drug abusers by the addiction field in Canada. As a result, treatment for individual family members affected by alcoholism and other drug addiction remains a neglected component of the majority of Canadian addiction programs. When family involvement is incorporated, the tendency has been to concentrate on orientation and education rather than on the provision of counseling for the family members. This dearth of programming exists despite the knowledge that an active alcohol or drug abuser's behaviour disrupts the entire family system, including the functioning and development of children. Each family member is uniquely affected with negative outcomes ranging from economic hardship to violence being perpetrated against them to an increased risk among children of becoming alcohol or drug abusers themselves. Thus, treating only the active alcohol or other drug abuser is limiting and an overly narrow orientation for the enhancement of both family and community health.     

外商投资国民待遇制度与反垄断立法

文章分析了当前中国外商投资法律制度的建立、现状以及未来的发展方向 ,同时分析了反垄断法在外商投资法律制度中的意义 ,指出尽快制定反垄断法的现实意义 ,并结合中国当前实际情况 ,提出加强中国企业竞争力是防止外资垄断的重要途径     

Drug addiction as a lifestyle

Drug addict rehabilitation programs receive a small proportion of the funds made available through the social welfare system. Emphasis has traditionally been placed on the pathological rather than the salutogenic elements of an addicted lifestyle. A new test of a person's sense of coherence in life (Antonovsky's 9-item Sense of Coherence scale) may be of interest in rehabilitation work with drug addicts, and in focusing more attention on this aspect of addiction treatment. Thirty drug addicts in treatment and rehabilitation and 10 former drug addicts were interviewed using the 9-item Sense of Coherence scale. The results obtained were compared to a well known test of distress, the 24-item Symptom Checklist. Drug addicts in treatment facilities had significantly lower mean scores on the 9-item Sense of Coherence scale (2.3) and higher scores on the 24-item Symptom Checklist (2.3) than both drug addicts in rehabilitatively oriented institutions (3.3 and 1.6) and the long-term rehabilitated non-using former drug addicts (4.2 and 1.5 respectively). The differences between the group in rehabilitation and the former drug addicts were also statistically significant. The levels of the two psychometric tests suggested a gradual movement towards normal values and an increased sense of meaning in life among the former drug addicts, contrary to findings by other researchers. The length of time before these tests return to normal values may exceed the observation period often used in follow-up at treatment facilities. Increased social welfare may follow if a disclosure of salutogenic possibilities in drug addicts is obtained. Further prospective research is, however, necessary to confirm our findings.