Jim Orford, MA, PhD

Background

I trained in clinical psychology and obtained my PhD at the Institute of Psychiatry in London before moving to a joint University/Health Service post in Exeter and subsequently to the University of Birmingham. I have researched and written extensively about alcohol, drug and gambling problems.  A special area of interest has always been research on the impact of addiction problems on the family and the development of methods for helping and supporting affected family members. With colleagues in the Alcohol, Drugs and the Family Research Group UK I have helped pioneer the 5-Step Method to help affected family members in their own right, and Social Behaviour and Network Therapy designed to include family members in the addiction treatment process. In 2010 I received The International Jellinek Award for contributions to alcohol and other addiction studies. I am an honorary member of the Society for the Study of Addiction. In 2011 I was elected an Honorary Fellow of the British Psychological Society.

International work

My international work began in 1989 with my, still continuing, collaboration with Guillermina Natera and colleagues at the Mexican Institute of Psychiatry, continued with work with the Living with Alcohol Program in the Northern Territory, Australia in the 1990s and early 2000s, and more recently has involved work with colleagues in several other countries including New Zealand, Brazil, Hong Kong and Iran. Along with work in England, the work in Mexico and Australia resulted in the book, Coping with Alcohol and Drug Problems.

Recent publications include:

• Orford, J., Natera, G., Copello, A., Atkinson, C., Mora, J., Velleman, R., Crundall, I., Tiburcio, M., Templeton, L. and Walley, G. (2005).  Coping with Alcohol and Drug Problems: The Experiences of Family Members in Three Contrasting Cultures, London: Brunner-Routledge.
• Orford, J. (2011). An Unsafe Bet? The Dangerous Rise of Gambling and the Debate We Should Be Having, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Orford, J. (2012). Addiction Dilemmas: Family Experiences in Literature and Research and Their Lessons for Practice, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Orford, J. (2013). Power, Powerlessness and Addiction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.