Addiction Research

Pathological Gambling Pathological gambling is believed to affect an estimated 3%-5% of adult Americans (Slutske, Jackson, and Sher, 2003). Nor are pathological gamblers exclusively male. Studies in Spain and the USA have consistently found 30% – 35% of excessive...

Addiction can exist without physical dependence: “Complicating matters, physical dependence is not necessary for the notion of addiction to apply. For example, upon stopping, pathological gamblers who do not use alcohol or other psychoactive drugs often reveal...

Substance use Disorders and Co-occurring Psychiatric Disorders Dual diagnosis is the term normally used to describe people with both substance use problems and psychiatric problems (Fitzgerald, 1997). Dual disorders are fairly common among substance misusing clients....

Treatment Approaches Countless treatment approaches and models have been developed for addiction treatment. We will now look at the most widely used approaches in addiction treatment settings: The Minnesota Model, The Matrix Model, The Relapse Prevention Model, and,...

Effective treatment is considered to be informed by the following thirteen principles: 1. No single treatment is appropriate for all individuals – Matching  treatment settings, interventions, and services to each individual’s particular problems and needs is critical...

Addictive Thinking It doesn’t matter what you are addicted to – you will have ‘Addictive Thinking’ (Twerski, 1997). This addictive thinking tends to be informed by: Denial Rationalisation Projection Justification Minimising Blame These serve to create: A distorted...

Understanding the addict is not merely about understanding that person’s pattern of substance use, or about having a conceptual framework with which to explain their addiction. It is also about understanding the addict’s way of thinking about the world and themselves....

There are many models that have tried to explain addiction. Here, I will briefly review five of the main models. Stress-Reduction/Behavioural Moral-Volitional Model Personality Model Dispositional Disease Model Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Stress-Reduction/Behavioural...

In the USA, The Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) study, conducted in the 1980s by the National Institute of Health, found: 13.7% of adults in the USA met current or lifetime criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence (approx 10.5 million Americans) 6.1% of adults in...