Coursework and Self‐study in the Family Treatment of Alcohol and Drug Abuse: Expanding Heath and Atkinson's Curriculum

Abstract

In designing a course on the family treatment of alcohol and drug problems, a number of important issues and topics need to be addressed. A design by Heath and Atkinson (1988) provides an excellent, innovative model for such coverage. These authors, however, had to contend with certain constraints that have had a bearing on the course content and how it is taught. The present paper offers some revisions and alternatives to Heath and Atkinson's model in order to make it generalizable to a greater number of contexts. For clinicians who are less interested in teaching such a course, the two papers, combined, could serve as a guide for self-study in this area.

The Role of Family and Significant Others in the Engagement and Retention of Drug-Dependent Individuals

“…Family factors have been part of the drug abuse lore at least since Fort's early (1954) paper commenting on the parents of heroin addicts. Subse-quently, the literature on family variables in the process and treatment of drug problems has shown steady and increasing accumulation; there were nearly 400 such publications between 1954 and 1978 (Stanton 1978), and that total would appear to have at least doubled by now (Heath and Atkinson 1988;Kaufman 1985;Mackenson and Cottone 1992;Sorenson 1989;Stanton 1988).…”

Family treatment of alcohol and drug abuse.

“…Many different modalities of family treatment have emerged, including marital therapy; group therapy for parents; concurrent parent and index patient therapy; therapy with individual families, both inpatient and outpatient; sibling-oriented therapy; multiple-family therapy; social network therapy; and family-systems-oriented therapy with one person. Heath and Atkinson (1988) and Stanton (1988) provide extensive reviews of the full range of theoretical and clinical approaches within family therapy.…”