Dr. Katherine Van Wormer has taught in departments of social work and criminal justice at the University of Northern Iowa and has over twenty years of experience in teaching and public service. Dr. Van Wormer was actively involved in civil rights movements in North Carolina and Northern Ireland. She practiced substance abuse counseling for four and a half years, including two in Norway. Dr. Van Wormer has been publishing texts, book chapters, and articles for over twenty years. In addition to ADDICTION TREATMENT: A STRENGTHS PERSPECTIVE, she has recently published SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE, THE MAID NARRATIVES and numerous other books, including two on female offenders and victims and one on the nature of oppression. She has received several honors, including the McKay Faculty Research Award from the University of Northern Iowa.