Pattern Identification and Reduction Therapy, the art of rapid and compassionate truth telling, was developed as a practical means of serving the needs of intense and demanding clinical populations, including treatment centers, prisons, jail, group homes and hospitals. It is a particularly effective methodology with the difficult client (defined as a client who is oppositional, disinterested or potentially volatile or who displays character-logical traits), and also works well with compliant and prosocial clients in private practice or clinical settings.

Evidence-based practices (EBP), including both evidence-based assessments and interventions, are intended to ensure that clients receive services that have scientific proof of their effectiveness. The push toward EBP has precipitated the question of whether they can adequately address the unique issues of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability status and regional distinctions (Sue & Zane, 2006). This article offers a candid discussion of some concerns related to EBP for African-American professionals, families and clients, as well as some recommendations for substance abuse treatment professionals.

For nearly five decades, Rudolf Moos, PhD, has focused on questions of great import to addiction counselors and the individuals and families they serve. His published studies (15 books and more than 450 articles) have dramatically expanded our knowledge of addiction treatment and the processes of long-term addiction recovery. Dr. Moos served as a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University and led (now as Emeritus Director) the Center for Health Care Evaluation at the Veterans Affairs Health Care System and Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, California. In this abridged 2011 interview, Dr. Moos discusses those studies he has conducted that have the greatest bearing on the practice of addiction counseling. The complete interview with full citations of the referenced studies, including expanded discussions of his research on women, people with co-occurring disorders and older adults, is posted at www.williamwhitepapers.com (under Leadership Interviews).

Over the course of the past decade a great deal has been written about recovery management in the treatment of addictions. A review of the research reveals that little has been written about recovery management in Hispanic/Latino communities, the fastest growing population in the United States. This article focuses on recovery management in the Hispanic/Latino community from the perspective of a recovery coach and offers recommendations for service providers who work with diverse populations.

We have entered the brave, new world of telehealth and e-therapy. Seventy-three percent of American adults are Internet users, and that figure is steadily growing. Eighty-three percent of undergraduate students participate in some form of social networking sites, and 57 percent report daily use (Center for Applied Research, 2008).

Studies indicate a dramatic rise in clients seen for behavioral health assessments in hospital-based emergency departments and other urgent care settings in recent years (Larkin, Claassen, Edmond, Pelletier, & Camargo, 2005). Many of these individuals have complicated clinical needs due to one or more mental health disorders co-occurring with substance abuse and/or dependence and medical conditions (Buckley, 2006). The complex presentation of many clients seen for emergency behavioral health evaluations requires a high level of clinical knowledge and skill to determine appropriate intervention—for example, whether the individual should be discharged or requires the safety and stability of an inpatient program or service.

Keith Humphreys’ sustained clinical, research, consulting, policy development and prolific writing activities qualify him as a pioneer in the modern history of addiction treatment and recovery. His work has bridged the worlds of clinical research, clinical practice, social policy and the lived experience of addiction recovery. His studies, perhaps more than the contributions of any other scientist, have illuminated the role of community, particularly indigenous recovery communities, in recovery initiation and long-term recovery maintenance. Please join us in an engaging conversation about his life and work. (The complete interview and full citations to the studies discussed are posted at www.williamwhitepapers.com).

The Honour of All is a three-part film about the sobriety movement which began in Alkali Lake, British Columbia, in the early 1970s. The film was made in 1985, approximately 12 years after the community of Alkali Lake began sobering up. Last year, 2010, marked the 25th anniversary of the film, which is still being watched and used in alcoholism treatment centers and therapeutic environments throughout Canada, the United States and Australia.

Part One is entitled, Native Indians: Images of Reality and depicts the experience of Alkali Lake becoming a sober community; Part Two is called, The People of Alkali Lake and reviews the changes that occurred in the community as the result of the sobriety movement. Part Three is known as Innovations that Work. It was filmed during the 1985 International Conference held in Alkali Lake to share recovery solutions with the 1,200 First Nations and American Indians in attendance from around Canada and the United States. This conference was organized by Alkali Lake Chief Charlene Belleau and the Band Council.