Pathways: From the Culture of Addiction to the Culture of Recovery : A Travel Guide for Addiction Professionals

Rating:
Summary: An Anthropological Study of Addictions Made Easy
Review: This work is essential reading for both substance-abuse treatment professionals and all others who have an interest in addictions. The ability to understand the addict, recovering or not, is simplified in White's work. White divides the addict into three easy-to-understand groups (Acultural, Bicultural and culturally enmeshed), providing an important informational tool for assessment and treatment planning. Just as the treatment professional should understand the ethnic and religious culture of the patient, so too should he understand the culture of addiction and recovery within which the substance abuser "resides." Knowing that there is a "cultural" difference between inner-city heroin addicts and codeine dependent nurses, for example, it follows that treatment for each group should also be different. What makes White's work particularly important is the scientific foundation from which it was researched and written. It is an anthropological work in lay-person's language.