Saturday, April 7, 2007

Staying Sober: A Guide for Relapse Prevention




By Terence T. Gorski and Merle Miller

Reviewed by Diane J.


Readers interested in Gorski's Relapse Prevention Model (also known as the "CENAPS relapse model", from the name of Gorski's organization) will want Staying Sober, his standard text on the topic. Intended for the relapse-prone individual, and written, according to CENAPS, "at an eighth-grade reading level," Staying Sober goes point by point through Gorski's definitions of addictive disorders, "Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS)" and its relation to relapse, mistaken beliefs about relapse, and the importance of family involvement and a support group. Gorski's central, and I think valuable, thesis is that relapse is a process that ENDS in the decision to drink or drug rather than an uncomplicated "out of the blue" event.

Offered in addition to the book is



Staying Sober Workbook:
A Serious Solution for the Problems of Relapse

by Terence T. Gorski

The Staying Sober Workbook appeared to me to cover much the same ground in "exercise" fashion, and would probably be very useful for people who are attracted by Gorski's approach and like the idea of working on specific assignments related to it. (I would read Staying Sober first before deciding on this one.)

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