Welcome! This website is designed to introduce the new understanding and treatment of addiction I've developed over the past 20 years, starting in academic journals then in my book, "The Heart of Addiction" (HarperCollins, 2002). Many people have written to let me know of their success using the ideas in the book both to help themselves and, in the case of therapists, to help others. Since this new approach is quite different from traditional efforts to help people suffering with addictions, I've been encouraged to try to make it as widely known as possible. I hope this site is useful for you.
Please also watch for my new book, "Breaking Addiction: A 7-Step Handbook for Ending Any Addiction" due out from HarperCollins in March 2011. It is a follow-up to The Heart of Addiction, describing a step-by-step approach to treating addiction based on the ideas in my first book.
Praise for “The Heart of Addiction”
“This book is a revolutionary advance in understanding how addictions work, and how people can master their own addictive behaviors. In a highly readable way, with compelling real-life examples, Dr. Dodes guides the reader toward a new way to understand and control the very behaviors which can seem uncontrollable. I have no doubt readers will be able to apply these new and unique ideas to their own lives.”
Edward Hallowell, M.D.
Author of Driven to Distraction; Worry; and Connect
“The Heart of Addiction is a masterful analysis of addiction that is destined to become a classic guide to understanding repetitive, excessive and self-destructive behavior patterns. This book marks a revolution in self-help. In fact, this book belongs on the shelf of every treatment professional facing patients with addictive behaviors.”
Howard J. Shaffer, Ph.D., C.A.S.
Director, Division on Addictions, Harvard Medical School
“In this courageous and pioneering text, Dr. Dodes has produced a new way of understanding addictions for patients and clinicians alike. The Heart of Addiction will significantly serve readers in what they need to know in understanding and relinquishing their addictions, whatever form they take.”
Edward J. Khantzian, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Past President, American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry
“In a field rife with misinformation, obfuscation, intimidation, and exploitation, this book represents a bright beacon of light that can pierce the fog and help save lives. … chapters are informative, heuristically stimulating, and quite practical. ... I recommend it wholeheartedly."
The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 2005