Since its inception the Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly (ATQ) has maintained a consistent focus on the treatment and recovery dimensions of alcohol (substance) use disorders. The journal seeks to espouse an interprofessional approach to addiction in addressing the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of the illness. New insights, derived from many disciplines, are presented in a search for more effective models of treatment based on a fuller understanding of the illness and of the dynamics of treatment and recovery. The primary focus of this issue is on treatment, with the Perspective section identifying the pressing public, professional, and policy issues associated with addiction which Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous effectively address.
The ability of positive psychology to influence the work of counselors in addressing the negative thinking associated with substance use disorders and to promote a sense of hope in recovery is explored by Krentzman and Barker. Majer and his colleagues show the effectiveness of residential treatment approaches, following the Oxford House model, in maintaining long term abstinence when compared to non-residential approaches. The prevalence of mental health problems in a college population experiencing alcohol use disorders is outlined by Wilson and her colleagues. The authors identify a higher rate of mental illness among women as a consequence of their drinking patterns. Bustos, Harvey, and Jason examine the activities which influence recovery in the early and later stages of recovery in a population involved the with justice system. Reading and writing are activities favored in early recovery whereas interactive and community activities are found more helpful in later recovery. Sharma and Ceballos see stress, in its psychological and physiological manifestations, as a basic condition to be addressed in early recovery as a prerequisite to sustained recovery from alcohol use disorders.
In the Perspectives section, White, Galanter, Humphreys, and Kelly, longtime respected voices in the treatment and recovery field, note that Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is rarely referenced in addressing the current crisis associated with opioid addiction. They underscore the effectiveness of NA in dealing with the opioid crisis by illustrating its many contributions to recovery through the most complete analysis of the NA literature to date, They also debunk the negative myths associated with NA as they make a compelling argument that NA be included in all our responses—public, professional, and policy—to the challenges of opioid addiction. The effectiveness of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) as an agent of recovery has been assailed in recent publications, with a disregard for the experience and literature that disprove such claims. Emrick and Beresford present a fair and evenhanded appraisal of the literature supporting the important place of AA in the larger ongoing story of recovery.
Many aspects of treatment and recovery are explored in this issue of the ATQ. It is my hope that the articles will contribute to relieving the individual, familial, and societal suffering associated with substance use disorders through effective treatment and sustained recovery. As always, I appreciate the authors who contribute to the journal and the libraries, institutions and individuals who ensure the well-being of the ATQ.