Responding to the Oppression of Addiction: Canadian Social Work Perspectives

Responding to the Oppression of Addiction brings together the voices of over 40 academics and social work practitioners from across Canada to provide a diverse and multidimensional perspective to the study of addiction. This thoroughly updated edition features eight new chapters and streamlines the content of the previous editions, with chapters condensed and combined to create a more accessible text.

The fourth edition features new content on themes such as residential schools, prevention initiatives, special needs of different populations, policy perspectives framed within an anti-oppression standpoint, cognitive behavioral therapy, and the emerging topic of problem gambling. Returning chapters have been updated, with contributors providing more in-depth examinations of trauma-informed approaches. The entire volume has a strengthened anti-oppressive framework, on both an overarching and by-chapter level. This celebrated and varied collection is an indispensable resource for upper-level students, graduate students, and practitioners working in the fields of social work, addictions studies, and the helping professions.

This uniquely Canadian resource brings together the voices of nearly 40 social work academics and practitioners from across the country to provide diverse and multidimensional perspectives to the study of addiction. Since the publication of the first edition 20 years ago, Responding to the Oppression of Addiction has reflected the holistic, anti-oppressive outlook that social workers bring to the multidisciplinary practice area of addiction. Each successive edition continues to honour this standpoint as well as focus on the oppression produced by addiction.

The fourth edition has been streamlined and thoroughly updated along four distinct new themes. It discusses core concepts that surround addiction, the importance of engagement with families, issues of equity and diversity, and social work–oriented considerations of well-established and emerging treatment approaches. The entire volume has a strengthened anti-oppressive framework, on both an overarching and by-chapter level.

This celebrated and varied collection is an indispensable resource for upper-level undergraduate students, graduate students, and practitioners working in social work, addictions studies, and the helping professions.