Collection: Understanding and Treating Addiction

As mental health practitioners, we strive to understand the conditions and disorders that our clients bring to us in the recognition that the more deeply we can comprehend what is happening for them, the more effectively we can facilitate healing from the problem, or at least managing it if genuine healing is not possible. With respect to addiction in particular, we can note the evolution in thinking over the last century, from alcoholism as evidence of moral turpitude to the contemporary understandings that, not only is it a disease, it is one which rewires the human brain. The courses in this collection, accordingly, treat a wide range of topics related to addiction. Some of the questions the lecturers discuss are:

• What are the disorders associated with the ten chief classes of drugs, and also gambling, identified in the DSM-5?
• What are the characteristics and aetiology of addiction?
• What are the factors underlying addiction? We want to understand the biological, social, and psychological effects of alcohol abuse and the resultant addiction, as we know we must understand not only the form of addiction, but also the function it serves the addict.
• What are the screening tools which will most effectively confirm that alcohol/drug misuse and addiction may be occurring?
• What do we know of the human, financial, and societal costs of addiction, especially to particular groups, such as youth? What are the effects of alcohol- or drug-related harm to different parts of the population?
• What other mental health conditions are alcohol use and addiction linked to - such as depression, anxiety, and trauma – and what is the best way to treat dual conditions?
• What types of therapies and interventions work best to help clients overcome addiction? Motivational interviewing has helped many clients, but narrative therapy and CBT (especially in combination with other therapies) all have a role to play. We get to look in on case studies using these therapies with clients dealing with alcohol misuse and issues such as depression, anxiety, trauma, and life transitions.

Drug/alcohol misuse and addiction constitute a major presentation to mental health professionals; thus, this collection is worth returning to multiple times to review existing understandings and extend overall knowledge. As courses are added, we collectively “push the envelope” on the breadth and depth of our understanding of addiction and how to treat it.