Relapse Prevention, Second Edition: Maintenance Strategies in the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors

This important work elucidates why relapse is so common for people recovering from addictive behavior problems--and what can be done to keep treatment on track. It provides an empirically supported framework for helping people with addictive behavior problems develop the skills to maintain their treatment goals, even in high-risk situations, and deal effectively with setbacks that occur. The expert contributors clearly identify the obstacles that arise in treating specific problem behaviors, review the factors that may trigger relapse at different stages of recovery, and present procedures for teaching effective cognitive and behavioral coping strategies.

About the Author

G. Alan Marlatt, PhD, until his death in 2011, was Director of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center and Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington. For over 30 years, Dr. Marlatt conducted pioneering work on understanding and preventing relapse in substance abuse treatment and was a leading proponent of the harm reduction approach to treating addictive behaviors. He was a recipient of honors including the Jellinek Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to knowledge in the field of alcohol studies, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Innovators Combating Substance Abuse Award, the Research Society on Alcoholism's Distinguished Researcher Award, and the Career/Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. Dennis M. Donovan, PhD, is Director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington. He has published extensively in the area of substance abuse and addictive behaviors, with research funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, and Addiction. A member of a number of national professional organizations, Dr. Donovan is past president of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, and is a Fellow of Division 50 (Division on Addictions) of the American Psychological Association.