INTRODUCTION The present manual is an extension of an earlier version that was developed in an attempt to present the basic and fundamental principles of network therapy in a standardized manner to psychiatry residents at the New York University School of Medicine who sought to specialize in substance abuse. As a rule, residents in post-graduate psychiatry programs are not offered systematic training in the treatment of substance use disorders. The earlier version of this manual, therefore, was initially conceived in an attempt to address that need.
Over the years, we have discovered that a variety of substance abuse therapists in other disciplines have also shown interest in learning the Network Therapy technique. The present manual is an expanded version of the earlier one, and is designed for professionals such as addictions counselors, social workers, nurses, and others working with addicted people. In so doing, we have incorporated feedback from our resident trainees from previous years to make the manual as clear and unencumbered by medical jargon as possible.
The rationale for presenting the Network Therapy manual to a wider audience at this time emerges in light of recent data suggesting that newer technologies for addictions treatment have been inefficiently transferred to the vast majority of addictions treatment professionals. Thus, the overall objectives of this effort are: 1) to delineate basic network therapy concepts; 2) to provide trainers and trainees with a reasonably concise catalogue of network therapy techniques; 3) to indicate role playing scenarios in order to try out the network therapy methods and "bring them to life"; and 4) to provide trainers with tools for arriving at initial skills assessment of trainees.
The basic concepts, techniques, and skills acquisition exercises are presented in the sections that follow. Other useful materials may be found in the appendices.
