Social Work with Drug and Substance Misusers (Transforming Social Work Practice Series)

This student text covers all aspects of working with drug and substance misusers, including the history and changes in policy on substance misuse and the differences between working with young and adult clients. Recent government initiatives and legislative changes are carefully outlined, while discussions on why people take drugs and the policy implications of harm reduction and abstinence approaches to substance use/misuse are related back to practice, so that readers understand how to engage with the client group and the reasons for varying success across treatment approaches.

Professor Anthony Goodman has been a practitioner and an academic for over 30 years. His first post as a probation officer included responsibility for liaising with a hostel for unstable drug addicts. He developed a continuing interest in this client group and now runs a Masters applied criminology programme at Middlesex University and also teaches in social work.