The chapters focus on one class of psychosocial interventions for substance abuse, i.e., group therapy in its many forms and diverse uses. The book constitutes a survey of the ideas and methods currently used in the field. Section I consists of chapters that discuss the basic theoretical approach on which most group treatments of substance abusers are based, as well as an introductory chapter on the practice of group treatment in the age of managed care. The interpersonal approach, the psycho-dynamic approach, cognitive-behavioral methods, self-medication theory, and modified group psychotherapy are explored. In Section II, the uses of group treatment approaches in particular treatment settings to achieve specific goals are discussed. Outpatient treatment groups, group relapse prevention approaches, inpatient group treatments, and partial hospitalization groups are included in this section, along with multi-family groups, the use of groups in therapeutic communities, time-limited groups, network therapy, and self-help and 12-step groups. Section III contains chapters that examine group treatment with specific patient populations. It begins with a discussion of ethnicity and culture in the group treatment of substance abusers and proceeds to include chapters on group treatments for female substance abusers; gay, lesbian, and bisexual substance abusers; two perspectives on adolescent substance abusers; and elderly substance abusers. Section IV focuses on group treatment approaches for specific diagnostic categories of patients, including schizophrenic substance abusers, smoking cessation groups, and medically ill substance abusers. The chapters in Section V focus on research issues in the group treatment of substance abusers, along with the implications and future trends for public policy and the ethical treatment of this patient population. Chapter references and a subject index