Jean Kinney, Lecturer in Community and Family Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School, was the Associate Director of the Alcohol Counselor Training Program at Dartmouth conducted between 1972 and 1978. That program was the impetus for this text. Upon completion of the Alcohol Counselor Training Program, she became involved with Project Cork, a program established to develop and implement a model curriculum for medical student education and to create materials for health care professionals. She continues to be involved in professional development initiatives in the substance abuse field. In 1999, she was the first recipients of the Harold Hughes Award given annually by the National Institute of Medicine's National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. It is given in recognition for efforts to assist in the translation of scientific research into clinical practice. Loosening the Grip was one of her efforts cited in this award. Accessible and comprehensive, Loosening the Grip remains an authoritative source for information about alcohol use and the problems associated with it, while also addressing the relationship between alcohol use and other drug use. This text presents the physical and psychological effects of alcohol alongside the impact of alcohol use on family and society. Special attention is given to addressing the range of responses to alcohol problems, prevention, harm reduction, brief treatment, engagement in treatment and aftercare, and addressing high risk drinking. Along with providing a historical foundation for the discussion of substance use, the book explains the facts about this complex issue in clear, engaging language. Loosening the Grip is widely recognized as a useful resource for future and current health care workers - substance abuse clinicians, school counselors, mental health workers, community nurses, and others.