This book presents an innovative method for the treatment of drug addicts and their rehabilitation that has brought remarkable success rates. The method is based on the existentialist approach, which holds that the therapist should enter the realm of their patients and treat them in their own �... more

This book presents an innovative method for the treatment of drug addicts and their rehabilitation that has brought remarkable success rates. The method is based on the existentialist approach, which holds that the therapist should enter the realm of their patients and treat them in their own ‘playground’ and according to their terms. The first step in the method is the physiological detoxification of the addict. The second step combines treatment on the personality level with twelve steps of spiritual and mental rehabilitation. The approach of Shoham and Addad is basically humanistic. It sees in the patient a unique human being with a rich inner world teeming with creative potential. This method, in contra distinction with others, does not seek to ‘straighten’ patients and subject them to coercing social structures. On the contrary, it aims to help people to find authentic meaning and creativity in their lives, even in the most abject physical conditions. This book is an invaluable resource for behavioral scientists engaged in the rehabilitation of opiate addicts. The treatment scheme can be used by social workers, clinical psychologists, and psychiatrists with experience in drug rehabilitation. Shlomo Giora Shoham is Professor of Criminology at Tel Aviv University and the laureate of the Israel prize in 2003. Professor Moshe Addad is the chairman of the department of Criminology at Bar-Ilan University.