Lance Dodes, M.D.

Lance Dodes, M.D. is a Training and Supervising Analyst with the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is the author or co-author of many journal articles and book chapters about addiction, as well as the groundbreaking book, The Heart of Addiction and his latest book Breaking Addiction: A 7-Step Handbook for Ending Any Addiction (both published by HarperCollins). A sought-after speaker, he has been invited to speak about the treatment of addiction at symposia across the country.

In his Heart of Addiction talks, Dodes offers a new way to think about and control addictive behavior. Rejecting pat explanations of alcoholism as a disease, he instead explores the underlying emotions that drive addictive behaviors. In his practice and research, Dodes has found that virtually every addictive act is preceded by a feeling of helplessness or powerlessness. The addictive behavior - be it drinking, gambling, or compulsive sex - serves to repair this feeling. The paradox is that the out of control behavior actually gives the addict a sense of being empowered or in control. But the addiction is a substitute for some other, more useful response. With compassion and deep understanding, he provides audiences with the keys to mastering their addiction by helping them uncover why they feel the impulse, why they feel it when they do, and what they can do to address their emotional needs in another, healthier way.

In his Breaking Addiction talks, Dodes presents a comprehensive guide outlining seven critical steps to overcome addiction, based on the theories outlined in The Heart of Addiction. In his straightforward style, Dodes incorporates case stories to illustrate the common emotional factors underlying all addictions, and the process of self-examination that allows addicts to recognize these factors at work in themselves. When they learn how addiction works, and the emotional purpose the addiction serves, Dodes shows them that they can take back control of their lives.

An enormous group of people are hungry for an approach that digs addiction up by its roots. Since the publication of The Heart of Addiction, Dodes' ideas have been incorporated into the practice of therapists and treatment centers around the country, and are taught at major addiction treatment centers, training centers for clinicians, and universities. Dodes also offers tools for loved ones who suffer with addiction, and for treatment professionals, to provide a new comprehensive, in-depth understanding of addiction.

Dodes has been the Director of the substance abuse treatment unit of Harvard's McLean Hospital, Director of the Alcoholism Treatment Unit at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital (now part of Massachusetts General Hospital) and Director of the Boston Center for Problem Gambling. He is Chair of the annual discussion group The Patient with Addiction in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis at the winter meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association. Dodes has also been honored by the Division on Addictions at Harvard Medical School for "Distinguished Contribution" to the study and treatment of addictive behavior, and has been elected a "Distinguished Fellow" of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry. He is or has been a reviewer or editor for many professional journals including the American Journal of Addiction, the Journal of Gambling Studies, and the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

Dodes lives in Massachusetts.

Breaking Addiction: The 7-Step Tools for Ending Any Addiction

The Heart of Addiction: Understanding the Psychology Behind Addiction

Psychological Treatment of Addiction

The Respective Roles of Psychology and Brain Chemistry in Addiction

Myths of Addiction

Compulsive Gambling

Sexual Addiction