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Psychiatrist Discusses Intervention Alternatives for Treating Addicts

Getting an addict into a therapy program can be difficult. Interventions and so-called "tough love" approaches often backfire. We speak with a psychiatrist and author, who is an advocate of what he ca

Psychiatrist Discusses Intervention Alternatives for Treating Addicts

Alison St John (Guest Host): One of the hardest and most painful things in any relationship must be what to do when someone you love has an addiction. Intervening is notoriously difficult and the number one thing that characterizes someone who's addicted is denial.

Thousands of books have been written and millions of people have spent years working on the question of what's the best thing to do if someone you love has an addiction.

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Our guest this hour is a psychiatrist who believes that maybe you don't have to wait for someone to hit rock bottom before they'll be ready for treatment. He says that perhaps tough love is not the only way to deal with this age-old challenge.

Guest

  • Laurence Westreich, M.D., a clinical psychiatrist and professor at New York University School of Medicine. He is also the author of Helping the Addict You Love: The New Effective Program for Getting the Addict Into Treatment.