A new understanding of substance abuse explores treatment issues based on subtypes of addicts, with a special focus on antisocial personality disorder and functional addiction.

Professionals in the treatment of substance abuse have long recognized the dismal success rate in addressing this pervasive problem. A fresh view of addiction may offer long-sought answers. Intervention and treatment strategies can be made more effective, maintains veteran addiction educator and psychologist Gary L. Fisher, through identification of addict subtypes. That is the goal of Understanding Why Addicts Are Not All Alike: Recognizing the Types and How Their Differences Affect Intervention and Treatment.

The book provides an in-depth, research-based analysis of three specific subtypes of substance abusers: addicts who fit the disease model, addicts with antisocial personality disorder, and functional addicts—those who lead otherwise successful lives. Particular attention is paid to the latter two groups, which have not been adequately studied previously. Characteristics of the three subtypes are illustrated through case studies that clearly demonstrate how subtype impacts prevention, intervention, and treatment. Most important, the book recommends practical intervention and treatment strategies that will enable concerned parties to identify—and help—each of these distinct groups.