Families and alcoholism: Developments in practice, research, and theory.

Reviews the books, Alcoholism treatment: An integrative family and individual approach by D. I. Davis (see record 1988-97811-000); Substance abuse and family therapy by E. Kaufman (1985); and The alcoholic family by P. Steinglass, L. A. Bennett, S. J. Wolin, and D. Reiss (see record 1987-98538-000). The book by Davis and Kaufman primarily address marital and family therapy (MFT) methods. The Steinglass et al. book presents a long-term, systematic program of theory development and research aimed at understanding the family system dynamics of alcoholic families. Davis provides excellent chapters on strategies for use in identifying and confronting alcohol problems and in getting a commitment from the family to work toward elimination of the problem drinking. The Davis book is an excellent resource; however, family and other therapists reading this book will need other resources for dealing with severe alcoholics, for moving rapidly to attain abstinence, and for dealing with long-term recovery. Kaufman's book is an excellent resource for family therapists wanting to learn more about dealing with alcoholism and other forms of substance abuse and for substance abuse therapists to learn about family therapy. The alcoholic family is an excellent book that will become a classic on this topic. We would recommend it for the serious clinician who wants a theoretical framework to guide decisions about therapeutic approaches with alcoholic families. We recommend all three books quite highly to practicing clinicians. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)