Chemical Dependency Counseling

A Practical Guide

In Chemical Dependency Counseling, Dr. Perkinson has given the addictions counseling profession an exceptional foundational text. Students and experienced professionals will find resources that are clinically sound and practice relevant. CDC continues to be welcomed in my classroom and “heavily borrowed” by my colleagues.

The addiction field has long needed a comprehensive set of exercises counselors can use to guide patients through good treatment. The books developed by Dr. Perkinson take the patient from the beginning of treatment to the end. They are written in such a manner that Dr. Perkinson is your mentor and is conversing with you, sharing with you his vast area of expertise and knowledge about recovery. These patient exercises meet the highest standards demanded by accrediting bodies.

I have been working with compulsive gamblers and their family members for 12 years and find this work extremely rewarding and challenging. I have been utilizing Dr. Perkinson’s books for 10 years and have found them to be some of the most useful tools in helping addicts and gamblers identify the many ways that addiction has impacted their lives. Our clients benefit from the straightforward approach and the clear instructions of how to begin incorporating a 12-step recovery program into their lives. I highly recommend Dr. Perkinson’s books.

I have been in the chemical dependency field for over 30 years. I have worked as a counselor, clinical supervisor, and executive director in a number of treatment centers. These are the best exercises for alcoholics, drug addicts, and problem gamblers that I have ever seen. I have used them for years, and patients find them easy to understand. The material covers everything an addict needs to know to enter a stable recovery. I highly recommend this book and patient handbooks. Staff and patients love them, and they make the counselor’s job easy. The book makes the job easy as all you will need to help your patient is in one place.

Dr. Perkinson does an excellent job of bringing together and individualizing 12-step treatment for addicts and gamblers, including identifying character defects and relapse prevention. Comments from patients include, “It has opened my eyes to my gambling and behaviors associated with it” and “I feel it is easy to work and very self-explanatory.”

An excellent reference for introducing new chemical/substance dependency practitioners to the structure of treatment programs. The expanded version of the original text is loaded with useful tools for treatment professionals and others in related disciplines.

Truly the nuts and bolts of alcohol and drug treatment. The information provided is superbly researched and put in a language that is eminently readable by anyone, including an entry-level counselor.