New Book on Addiction Treatment Questions 12-Step Programs

the MPR take:

Dr. Richard A. Friedman, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College reviews The Sober Truth, a book written by Dr. Lance Dodes and his son Zachary Dodes which criticizes the use of 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous as treatments for alcohol and drug addiction. Dr. Friedman is skeptical of the authors' theory that addiction is due to psychological compulsions in which the addiction is a means of dealing with helplessness and that it can be treated with psychodynamic therapy. The criticism and dismissal of the role of neuroscience in addiction is, according to Dr. Friedman, a weakness of this book. Addiction, he points out, has numerous complex factors including genetics, biology, psychology, and environment.