Drawing on more than 15 years of experience as an active clinician and instructor specializing in treating the chemically dependent and their families, Olivia Curtis presents an engaging and practical book on the nuts and bolts of counseling drug affected families. Unique and timely, Chemical Dependency: A Family Affair looks at family dynamics from a family systems perspective and examines how those dynamics are affected by chemical dependency. Through her insightful and friendly writing style, Curtis gives a comprehensive summary of the development of family theories, the structure of a family system, and the interplay between chemical dependency and the family system.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 2.0 / 5.0
Overly simplistic and not academic:
I recently used this text for a Counseling Addicted Families Class I was taking as a Graduate Counseling student. I found myself circling typos and writing in questions. Curtis does not cite references properly or nearly enough, with the exception of Steinglass(1987)who is overcited, causing me to think this is just a summary of his earlier book. Her explanation of family systems and family therapy seem simplistic and archaic. Since I was taking a Marriage and Family class at the same time as the addicted... more info
Review of Curtis: Chemical Dependency, A Family Affair:
Some authors pass down source material like a suit on its third pass through the Salvation Army Thrift Shop, without checking the label. Ignoring the paper trail can be especially dangerous in addictions and family systems writing, where authors must navigate the reefs and shoals of folk, pop psychology and pseudoscientific models. A recent example is Chemical Dependency: A Family Affair by Olivia Curtis (Curtis 1999) This short text has the imprimatur of Brooks-Cole, premier publisher of counseling texts.... more info
