Jim Orford – författare

There are now signs that, after decades of phenomenal growth, the era of unrestrained gambling liberalisation may be coming to an end. However, the power of the Gambling Establishment is formidable, and it will certainly fight back. Drawing on research and policy examples from around the world, the book provides a unified understanding of the dangerousness of modern commercialised gambling, how its expansion has been deliberately or inadvertently supported, and how the backlash is now occurring.

The term Gambling Establishment is defined to include the industry which sells gambling, governments which support it, and a wider network of organisations and individuals who have subscribed to the ‘responsible gambling’ Establishment discourse. Topics covered include the psychology of how gambling is now being advertised and promoted and the way it is designed to deceive gamblers about their chances of winning; the increased exposure of young people to gambling and the alignment of gambling with sport; understanding the experience of gambling addiction; the various public health harms of gambling at individual, family, community and societal levels; and how evidence has been used to resist change. The book’s final chapter offers the author’s manifesto for policy change, designed with Britain particularly in mind but likely to have relevance elsewhere.

With detailed examples given of the ways a number of countries are responding to these threats to their citizens’ health, this book will be of global interest for academics, researchers, policymakers and service providers in the field of gambling or other addictions specifically, and public health and social policy generally.

There are now signs that, after decades of phenomenal growth, the era of unrestrained gambling liberalisation may be coming to an end. However, the power of the Gambling Establishment is formidable, and it will certainly fight back. Drawing on research and policy examples from around the world, the book provides a unified understanding of the dangerousness of modern commercialised gambling, how its expansion has been deliberately or inadvertently supported, and how the backlash is now occurring.

The term Gambling Establishment is defined to include the industry which sells gambling, governments which support it, and a wider network of organisations and individuals who have subscribed to the ‘responsible gambling’ Establishment discourse. Topics covered include the psychology of how gambling is now being advertised and promoted and the way it is designed to deceive gamblers about their chances of winning; the increased exposure of young people to gambling and the alignment of gambling with sport; understanding the experience of gambling addiction; the various public health harms of gambling at individual, family, community and societal levels; and how evidence has been used to resist change. The book’s final chapter offers the author’s manifesto for policy change, designed with Britain particularly in mind but likely to have relevance elsewhere.

With detailed examples given of the ways a number of countries are responding to these threats to their citizens’ health, this book will be of global interest for academics, researchers, policymakers and service providers in the field of gambling or other addictions specifically, and public health and social policy generally.

Many illnesses, disabilities or disorders can have profound effects upon family life. With a shift to community care in the 1980s the burden on family members was increasing. Relatives had often been ignored by helping agencies, and professional theories about family disorders had sometimes encouraged a negative attitude towards relatives. The intention of Coping With Disorder in the Family, originally published in 1987, was to provide those who helped family members with a sounder basis of knowledge upon which to base their practice.

Each chapter in this book was written by someone who knew the problems which faced family members attempting to cope with a particular kind of family disorder. These problems are described with the help of frequent examples, and practical guidance is given about the ways in which helping agencies can aid and strengthen family members and involve them fully in the treatment process. The book combines theory and practice, and was an important book for a wide audience of practitioners and students in a variety of different disciplines and agencies at the time, including general practitioners, nurses, occupational therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and voluntary agencies.

This book is a reissue originally published in 1987. The language used is a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this re-publication.

Many illnesses, disabilities or disorders can have profound effects upon family life. With a shift to community care in the 1980s the burden on family members was increasing. Relatives had often been ignored by helping agencies, and professional theories about family disorders had sometimes encouraged a negative attitude towards relatives. The intention of Coping With Disorder in the Family, originally published in 1987, was to provide those who helped family members with a sounder basis of knowledge upon which to base their practice.

Each chapter in this book was written by someone who knew the problems which faced family members attempting to cope with a particular kind of family disorder. These problems are described with the help of frequent examples, and practical guidance is given about the ways in which helping agencies can aid and strengthen family members and involve them fully in the treatment process. The book combines theory and practice, and was an important book for a wide audience of practitioners and students in a variety of different disciplines and agencies at the time, including general practitioners, nurses, occupational therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and voluntary agencies.

This book is a reissue originally published in 1987. The language used is a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this re-publication.

“Professor Orford is one of the most distinguished researchers of addictions today. In this book he aims to counter the neglect and misunderstanding faced by families affected by addiction – an estimated one hundred million worldwide – and to highlight the personal, professional and public policy dilemmas. By drawing on personal accounts from fiction, autobiography and Professor Orford and his colleagues’ own international research ­programme, the voices of children, wives, grandparents and friends spring to life. The penetrating and sensitive commentary, and thought-provoking questions and exercises make this book invaluable for practitioners, ­researchers and family members. It demonstrates the many shared ­experiences of family members across continents and over time, whether alcohol, drug misuse or gambling is involved.”

Judith Harwin, Professor of Social Work, Brunel University, UK

Addiction Dilemmas explores the impact of addiction on those closest to the individuals affected – their families. Many barriers can stand in the way of family members receiving help, not least a lack of available services and a failure on the part of professionals and their organisations to fully ­appreciate the nature of the dilemmas which they face.

This book is based on a combination of personal interviews from scientific research, accounts from biography and autobiography (featuring well-known names both past and present) and excerpts from well-informed works of literature. The book’s core theme is the stress faced by family members when a close relative has an addiction problem, and the struggles they experience in deciding how to cope. By tracing the same dilemmas through a range of contexts, Jim Orford offers unique insights to professionals who deal with people with addictions and their families, researchers, policy makers and ultimately family members themselves. Sources include The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë, A Chancer by James Kelman, Long Day’s Journey into Night by Eugene O’Neill, and biographies of close relatives of Dylan Thomas and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.