I believe that the "standard" model of treatment provision is the primary barrier to connecting with individuals in need. In this article I will discuss outreach as a model of addiction care from which we can learn a great deal.

Over the last two decades our understanding of addiction has advanced tremendously. Unfortunately (and quite curiously) most of the advancements in this area have not made it out of the Ivory tower.

To provide you with information about your drinking to help you determine whether it is problematic enough to warrant modification.

Many adolescents experiment with alcohol, and there are a variety of reasons why they do so. Experimentation does not usually lead to alcohol or drug abuse. You can use your influence as a parent to help prevent experimenting from becoming a tenacious habit.

Many people who stop smoking do so "cold turkey." As is the case with most addictive habits, this approach to change is not suitable for everyone and often leads to frustration and feelings of defeat.

Relapse is viewed as a normal part of the change process, as opposed to a complete failure. This does not mean that relapse is desirable or even invariably expected. It simply means that change is difficult, and it is unreasonable to expect everyone to be able to modify a habit perfectly with out any slips.

The paradigm of Harm Reduction is a kindergarten-simple. This approach to addiction is viewed by some as compassionate and pragmatic; by others as selfish and dangerous. Thankfully, Harm Reduction is not a novel idea, and the most common techniques of Harm Reduction have been supported empirically.

It is truly shocking that the issue of controlled drinking still evokes such violent debate. Most people simply don’t know the facts regarding controlled drinking as a viable alternative for some problem drinkers.

The word "cognitive" or "cognition" means "to know" or "to think". Therefore, cognitive therapy is viewed as a "psychological treatment of thoughts." Simply, cognitive therapy operates under the assumption that thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and perceptual biases influence what emotions will be experienced and also the intensity of those emotions. Cognitive Therapy has been helpful in treating panic, anger control problems and substance abuse.

Albert Ellis was a pioneer in the area of cognitive therapy, who developed what he called the A-B-C model, which describes the sequence of events that ultimately lead to our experienced feelings. "A" refers to Activating Event. - the experiences we encounter. "B" refers to Belief. "C" refers to Consequent Emotion, the resulting feelings experienced as a result of our interpretation of the event.