LIVES AT RISK: Understanding and Treating Young People with Dual Disorders

Lives at Risk addresses a population of concern: young men and women in early adulthood who are stalled and endangered by problems of mental illness and/or personality disorders combined with substance abuse. Through four vividly presented cases, the authors trace the complexities of the problems, define subgroups of the population, and discuss what can be done in contemporary treatment. They then explore current frontiers of knowledge and thinking about the brain, personality disorder and immaturity, and the biopsychosocial perspective as a means for addressing problematic thinking, feeling, and behavior. A final section offers an overview of the circumstances of contemporary managed mental health care, a concept for the redesign of services, and guidelines targeted for clinicians, administrators, family members, client/consumers themselves, and social advocates.
Through the stories of "Bill," "Annie," and "Darell," the authors probe the dimensions of a multifaceted human and social problem: young adults in our society who are not "making it," who cannot begin to function independently because of a range of mental and emotional disorders. The three young adults discussed are very different from each other; what they have in common is their position as "society's children" - who become society's dependents. They present a mounting challenge to themselves, to their families, and to our education, public assistance, criminal justice, mental health, and substance abuse treatment systems. They are, the authors argue, anybody's children. Lives at Risk is a book for everyone who cares about society and its future.