Pocket Guide to Addiction Assessment and Treatment

Written in an engaging, straightforward style, the "Pocket Guide to Addiction Assessment and Treatment" provides easily accessed yet comprehensive information on all clinically important aspects of addiction. Whether at the bedside or in the office, any health care practitioner will find in this guide a quick, pertinent path to crafting an immediate treatment plan for their patients with substance use disorders or behavioral addictions. Andrew J. Saxon, M.D., Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Director, Addiction Psychiatry Residency Program, University of Washington, Director, Center of Excellence in Substance Abuse Treatment and Education (CESATE), VA Puget Sound Health Care System In summary, the Pocket Guide to Addiction Assessment and Treatment is an excellent guide for the medical student, resident, practitioner, and others involved in the addiction treatment field. Although it is not meant to be a textbook, it also serves as an excellent review for someone wishing to refresh themselves with a particular topic regarding substances, fundamentals of addiction, and treatment. Lon R. Hays, M.D., M.B.A.

Twenty concise chapters accessibly address a broad spectrum of topics, including the fundamentals of addiction; specific substances and addictive behaviors, including gambling disorder; and treatment approaches, including special issues with psychiatric and medical comorbidities.

Ambivalence, poor adherence to treatment, serious psychiatric and medical comorbidities—the difficulties posed by patients of substance use disorders are among the most challenging for practitioners to face. Given that only 10% of patients with these disorders actually receive specialized addiction treatment, it's clear that physicians in all medical and surgical specialties need to become comfortable assessing and treating substance use disorders.

The Pocket Guide to Addiction Assessment and Treatment is designed specifically to aid a wide range of clinicians, regardless of their training in addiction, to more confidently assess and treat this patient population.

The book's practical, actionable content is divided into three sections—Fundamentals of Addiction, Substances and Behaviors, and Treatment—that address topics including:

• The neurobiology of addiction
• How to recognize and treat intoxication, withdrawal from, and addiction to substances such as alcohol, anabolic-androgenic steroids, benzodiazepines, cannabis, opioids, stimulants, and tobacco, as well as hallucinogens, inhalants, and caffeine
• Special issues with psychiatric and medical comorbidities, as well as with specific populations
• Behavioral addictions, with a special focus on gambling disorder
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy; 12-step programs; nutrition and exercise; spirituality, mindfulness, and meditation; and other treatment options, with examples of how each can be used with patients facing addictions

With an accessible, easily referenced format, the Pocket Guide to Addiction Assessment and Treatment serves as a go-to resource for general psychiatrists, internists, family practitioners, pediatricians, emergency medicine physicians, psychiatric nurses, residents, medical students, and other practitioners involved in the addiction treatment field. And because all of the diagnostic discussions are DSM-5–based, readers can be confident that they're getting the most relevant and up-to-date guidance on the topic.