Tag: Conn's Current Therapy

Make It Four

The 77th (!!) edition of Conn’s Current Therapy is now in print and with it my chapter on alcohol use disorder.1 I’ve been the chapter author since 2022.

I’m eternally grateful to my old partner, Tim Scanlan, M.D., for passing my name along to the editorial team at Elsevier. I also want to thank my editors, Rick Kellerman, M.D., and Kevin Travers.

This year’s chapter contains a new section on withdrawal management. There’s also an update related to the newish edition of The ASAM Criteria.

I’ve been invited back for 2026. For the past few years, I’ve been pondering whether risks related to alcohol truly “start from the first drop.” The Surgeon General’s recent cancer advisory probably requires me to finally wade into this controversy. ✸

  1. Page 865ff.

Three-Peat

It’s that time of year when heavy boxes (nine pounds) arrive with the fruits of last season’s labor. The 76th (!!) edition of Conn’s Current Therapy is now in print, and with it my chapter on alcohol use disorder.1 I’ve been the chapter author since 2022.

Many thanks to my old partner, Tim Scanlan, M.D., for passing my name along to the editorial team at Elsevier. And also to my editors Rick Kellerman, M.D., and Kevin Travers.

I’ve been invited back for 2025. I plan to add a section on ambulatory withdrawal management.2 I’ve also been mulling over whether risks related to alcohol truly “start from the first drop.”3 Finally, the updated edition of The ASAM Criteria, which appeared in late 2023, likely requires brief mention. ✸

  1. Page 841ff ↩︎
  2. J Addict Med 2020;14(3S Suppl 1):1-72 (PMID: 32511109) ↩︎
  3. World Health Organization ↩︎

Just Me Again

I had the privilege of authoring the chapter on Alcohol Use Disorder in Conn’s Current Therapy 2023, the venerable textbook that has now been through 75 (!!) annual editions. With a little luck, you should be able read it via Google Books (Section 10: Psychiatric Disorders, Page 823).

As promised last year, I included some important new-ish research on non-abstinent recovery (“progress, not perfection”) in the 2023 edition. I also added a section on motivational enhancement therapy (a/k/a motivational interviewing) and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), which can be conducted during brief sessions like office visits in primary care.

I’ve been asked to return for the 2024 edition. If space permits, I may include a section on ambulatory medically managed withdrawal (“detoxification”), which is feasible for many patients.

Many thanks to Rick Kellerman, M.D., for involving me in this most rewarding project! ✸

Postscript [03/03/2023]. It’s always fun to receive the physical copy in the mail. The book weighs in at around 9 pounds per the label on the box in which it arrived.

Author! Author!

I had the great honor of authoring the chapter on Alcohol Use Disorder in Conn’s Current Therapy 2022, the venerable textbook that has been through 74 (!!) annual editions. With a little luck, you should be able read it via Google Books (Psychiatric Disorders, Page 803).

I’ve been asked to return for the 2023 edition. I plan to include some important new research on non-abstinent recovery (“progress, not perfection”). I’ll also be adding a section on how to actually deliver motivational enhancement therapy (a/k/a motivational interviewing) and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) during brief sessions like office visits in primary care.

Many thanks to Rick Kellerman, M.D., for involving me in this most rewarding project! ✸