ABSTRACT
Substance use and abuse, including alcohol and illicit drug use, costs in the United States are estimated to be nearly $400 billion annually (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2008). Although the economic costs are extremely high, the human tragedy of these costs goes well beyond what can be calculated in terms of lost potential, shattered families, individual and family stress, and loss and grief. This chapter will provide ways of understanding and treating addiction with the hope that a better understanding will assist in alleviating some of the national tragedy addiction has become.
