110 Book Reviews Addiction Intervention: Strategies to Motivate Treatment-Seeking Behaviour, Robert K. White & Deborah George Wright (eds) The Haworth Press, Inc. (1998), New York, ISBN 0-7890-0434-8 pb, 154 pp inc index. This book has been published at a time when addiction to substances is becoming a major socio-economic problem in many countries. Many professionals find themselves at a loss in terms of how to help people who are addicts. Addiction Intervention includes contributions from experts in various fields, focussing on different aspects of alcohol and drug abuse. In Chapter 1, the author describes how the family can be involved in the treatment of an addicted person. He is very pragmatic, however, as he also outlines the limitations of family intervention. In addition, he suggests alternative strategics which can also be useful for the medical, legal employee assistance programmes and professional communities. The medical strategy is examined in Chapter 2. A significant percentage of addicts will need medical care at some point in their lives, either for their addiction or for other medical conditions. How a medical practitioner may effectively intervene is proposed. The fact that the physician should be aware of the resources system in a given community, such as self-help groups, is highlighted. Addiction can be viewed from a menial health perspective. Chapter 3 explains how intervention can be carried out - of importance, are the key elements in what the author calls the 'Persuasion Stage'. These elements are considered to be essential when interviewing a mentally ill person. The fact that people with alcohol/drug problems are also found at the workplace is of interest. Chapter 4 focusses on the employee assistance programme strategy and outlines the roles that key players, such as supervisors and unions, can play in the treatment of these employees. A clear step-by-step approach for counselling is also given. In addition, Chapter 5 looks at how professional associations can help their own members who have addiction problems. This chapter is crucial because it clearly spells out that professionals arc just like anyone else and can develop this problem too. Peer assistance is viewed as an important component in this intervention programme. It is widely accepted that adolescents tend to be more at risk than other categories of people. This book would be incomplete if it did not address the issue of adolescent intervention strategics, which are given in Chapter 6. A summary of various family therapy intervention models are given in Chapter 7. The author notes that this chapter is about: "a tool, another approach to treatment based on an integration of Vernon Johnson's Intervention model, Task Centred Clinical Social Work and structural systems engagement". It highlights the importance of involving the family in the intervention process. Book Reviews 111 Since people with addiction problems arc likely to come face to face with the law, a legal strategy is presented in Chapter 8. In Chapter 9, the author shares with the reader the services offered in a "one stop rc-cmploymcni social services centre", suggesting the use of C.A.R.E, "a four step intervention strategy", which is said to be informal. This book provides much needed guidance on how to intervene, using different strategics depending on the professional background of a person. It is user-friendly and offers practical guidelines on how to help addicts. Academics, researchers, practitioners and students should be able lo use the information provided and even try out some of the strategics in a variety of settings. Perpelua Gumbo, Lecturer, School of Social Work, Harare, Zimbabwe.