Seminars in addiction psychiatry

Historical and conceptual approaches to addiction -- Illicit drug use: epidemiology, aetiology and prevention -- Illicit drug use: clinical features and treatment -- Addiction to prescription medication: benzodiazepines, Z-drugs and gabapentinoids -- Alcohol use disorders: epidemiology and prevention -- Alcohol use disorders: aetiology and pathophysiology -- Alcohol use disorders: clinical features and treatment -- Psychological approaches to addiction -- Co-morbid substance use and mental illness -- Medical aspects of drug and alcohol use -- Organising treatment services for drug and alcohol misusers -- Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) and club drugs -- Addiction problems in a family and social context -- Addiction recovery mutual-aid organizations.

This extensively revised new edition provides a practical guide to understanding, assessing and managing physical, psychological and social complications related to drug and alcohol use. It presents a clear review of the aetiology, epidemiology, prevention and treatment of the problematic use of and dependence on alcohol, illicit and prescribed drugs. In doing so it strikes a balance between theory, recent research and practical clinical guidance. New chapters focus on novel psychiatric substances, smoking cessation interventions, mutual aid groups and family interventions. Written by leading specialists in the field and closely following the MRCPsych curriculum, this book is an ideal resource for trainees preparing for their RCPsych membership examinations, but is also relevant to psychiatrists at all career levels. It will also appeal to other healthcare professionals, all of whom should be able to screen for alcohol and drug use disorders, deliver brief interventions, and signpost those with more severe disorders to specialist care.