ABSTRACT
Therapists see the challenge facing the addict as letting go of their attraction or bond to their substance of choice, while finding meaningfulness in daily living. Kaplan et al. indicate that the prevalence of substance abuse or dependence in the US adult population is 16.7 percent, with a consistent increase in alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, and cocaine from the 1980s to the early 1990s. A unique aspect of this study was differentiation of drinkers on the basis of their readiness to change. Among drinkers who were relatively unmotivated for change, motivational interviewing led to significantly greater reductions in drinking than did behavioral skill training. The voluntary road away from the gratification cycles of addiction seems to involve the human frontal cortex, the process of valuing and choosing and deciding. Popular stereotypes of substance use disorders construe them as primarily biological problems with predominantly genetic bases, which require medical treatment such as hospitalization and medication.
