Addiction: Alternatives To Abstinence

Course overview

Addictive behavior is a complex genetic, biological, psychological and sociological phenomenon, and has probably affected humans since the beginning of civilization. An addiction can be defined as the compulsive need to use a habit-forming substance, or an ?irresistible urge? to engage in a potentially harmful behavior. Alcohol, drugs, cigarette smoking and food are some of the most common substances associated with addictive behaviors, but the term addiction is also used to describe excessive indulgence in activities including work, exercise, shopping, sex, and gambling. This course will provide providers with an overview of addiction, including the mixed views regarding treatment. Alcohol abuse has been traditionally held up to the ?moral model,? where alcoholism is viewed as a lapse of self-control, rather than an illness. Alcoholics and other addicts were believed to be able to cure their problem by ?free will,? and that these behaviors were a moral lapse rather than a disease. The course details several of the treatments currently in use today, and points out how during the past 15 years, there has been a dramatic surge in innovative treatment approaches for alcohol and other addictions. It also familiarizes providers with the two models of prevailing thought regarding addiction and treatment; the medical model and harm reduction. The medical model views addiction as a disease, and this definition dates back half a century, when it was defined as such by the American Medical Association. While the disease model views an addict with compassion rather than righteousness, the model stresses that a cure is not possible, and that an addict can only halt the progression of the disease. Thus, the only goal for the addict is to become abstinent.