At Wits End: What You Need to Know When a Loved One Is Diagnosed with Addiction and Mental Illness

by Jeff Jay

At Wit's End is a guide that will provide vital information -- and support to families dealing with a loved one's co-occurring psychiatric and addictive problem. Addiction experts Jay and Boriskin demystify complex terms and provide you with helpful insights about how psychiatric diagnoses mimic addictive disorders, why chemical use exacerbates psychiatric problems, and when intervention is needed. Excerpt: "Once a person has a powerful reason to live -- whether for love, faith, friendship, or goals -- obstacles become challenges and stubbornness turns into determination."

Genres: Psychology

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Jeff Jay is a clinical interventionist and addiction specialist. He has been guiding families into recovery for more than 30 years. His work has appeared on CNN, the Jane Pauley Show, PBS, Forbes Online, and many professional journals.
Jeff is the coauthor (with Debra Jay) of the best-selling book Love First: A Family’s Guide to Intervention, (3rd edition, 2021, Hazelden). His recovery memoir from Hazelden is Navigating Grace, a solo voyage of survival and redemption. He is also the co-author of At Wit’s End: What You Need to Know When a Loved One Is Diagnosed with Addiction and Mental Illness, (with Jerry A. Boriskin Ph.D., Hazelden).
Jeff Jay is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, and a certified alcohol and drug counselor, and a certified intervention professional (CIP). Jeff currently serves as a board member of the Association of Intervention Specialists; the editorial board of Human Development magazine; and on the advisory board of Jefferson House, in Detroit, MI. He has previously served as president of the Terry McGovern Foundation in Washington, DC, and on the board of directors of the Michigan Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors, Dawn Farm Treatment Center, and the Employee Assistance Professionals Association of Greater Detroit.
He heads a national private practice that provides intervention and recovery mentoring services. He served as a clinician with Hazelden and also Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center. His personal recovery dates from October 4, 1981.