Using Sociology to End Chemical Dependency

Drawing on participant observations and interventions while counseling 160 heroin addicts over a two-year period, the author explores the possibilities and limitations of using sociology to counter his clients\u27 addictions to heroin and other drugs. Important historical changes have brought about new conflicting viewpoints within the methadone maintenance clinic, where acupuncture and Chinese herbal treatments are now available alongside Western medicine Although sociologists have written harsh accounts of getting the treatment, they have tended to support methadone maintenance, which has been demonstrated to stem crime and HIV, among other socially beneficial ends. Clinical sociologists can resocialize addicts to mentally-healthful social solidarities, demystify the socially destructive effects of drugs, and criticize ineffective, dehumanizing treatment techniques and ideologie

Clinical Sociology in France and Quebec: A Primer and Commentary, Part I

Clinical sociology has occupied a noteworthy place in several French-speaking societies. Clinical sociology, socioanalysis, action research, and psychosociology—four prominent signifiers of this field—are found in the French-language literature and practice. In this paper their historically changing meanings are reviewed with examples from France and Quebec. The strengths and weaknesses of this literature and practice are discussed. Finally, French, Quebec, and American clinical sociologies are compared and contrasted