Substance users, loved ones, and treatment providers need to realize that significant lifestyle changes are frequently required to replace the culture of addiction with a culture of recovery. In the following passage, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shares its insights into the role of drug cultures. Neuropsychology helps us understand how addictive substances alter brain circuits, particularly the reward system and prefrontal cortex. The reward system is responsible for feelings of pleasure and motivation, while the prefrontal cortex is involved in decision-making and impulse control. Chronic drug use can disrupt these systems, leading to intense cravings and difficulty resisting them. It allows for the development of more positive behaviours by understanding alternatives, and more possibilities and gives opportunities for making positive decisions with those options.
Substance Use Disorders as Biopsychosocial Phenomenon
Understanding this is crucial to providing treatment plans and interventions representative of the individual and their needs. It is important that the support recovery process identifies the multifaceted reasons for the addiction, supporting them in living a healthy lifestyle without substance dependence. Social influences can have a profound effect on biological and psychological components. Chronic stress from difficult life circumstances can literally change brain structure and function, while also impacting mental health. They’re constantly interacting, influencing each other in a complex dance that shapes the course of addiction.
When people with substance use disorders experience discrimination, they are likely to delay entering treatment and can have less positive treatment outcomes (Fortney et al. 2004; Link et al. 1997; Semple et al. 2005). Discrimination can also increase denial and step up the individual’s attempts to hide substance use (Mateu-Gelabert et al. 2005). The immorality that mainstream society attaches to substance use and abuse can unintentionally serve to strengthen individuals’ ties with the drug culture and decrease the likelihood that they will seek treatment.
Individualized care
Pleasure circuits in adolescent brains also operate in overdrive, making drug and alcohol use even more rewarding and enticing. To add to that, repeated use of drugs can damage the essential decision-making center at the front of the brain. This area, known as the prefrontal cortex, is the very region that should help you recognize the harms of using addictive substances. Dimensions one and two refer to biological concerns; dimensions three and four refer to psychological concerns; dimensions five and six refer to social concerns. The video below provides an overview of how the ASAM dimensions are applied by professional addictions counselors.
Patient centered medication treatment for opioid use disorder in rural Vermont: a qualitative study
The belief that providers monitoring care could help prevent recurrence, as well as inconsistent expectations for abstinence across clinic staff, and substance testing errors with faulty equipment and mislabeling samples were mentioned minimally. Themes related to Shared Decision-Making included Medication Decisions, Collaborative Care, and Shared Decision Making. The main theme of Medication Decisions included Dose Changes and Medication Type (O). Primary features of the model are shown in boldface; variables exemplifying heroin-assisted treatment are shown in italics. The biological basis of addiction helps to explain why people need much more than good intentions or willpower to break their addictions.
Movement and Recovery
When we understand the impact of our perception, purpose of rewards, motivation, expectancy, and maturation, it helps us to find solutions to the addictive behaviours that may not have been an option previously. It allows for the development of more positive behaviours by understanding alternatives, and more possibilities and gives opportunities for making positive decisions with those options. Stephens (1991) uses examples from a number of ethnographic studies to show how people can be as taken by the excitement of the drug culture as they are by the drug itself. Media portrayals, along with singer or music group autobiographies, that glamorize the drug lifestyle may increase its lure (Manning 2007; Oksanen 2012).
I live alone and have no social life at this point and I’m very inactive.” (P15; +). Nine of the 15 participants identified as female, all identified as White, 7 participants reported being employed, and none reported being unhoused. All 15 participants considered themselves in active OUD care at one of 13 clinics located in five Vermont counties (1–3 participants per county). Nine (60%) participants were receiving buprenorphine, 6 (40%) were receiving methadone, and zero were receiving naltrexone. Additionally, 9 participants (60%) reported current MOUD treatment for more than a year and 12 participants (80%) had previously received MOUD at other Vermont treatment locations. The deontological principle of respect for persons is a characteristic feature of harm reduction efforts such as HAT.
Future qualitative exploration into patient centered MOUD care at settings serving culturally and linguistically diverse populations at different stages of care could add to the range and richness of patient perspectives on MOUD treatment delivery. The biopsychosocial systems model implicitly calls for an integrative discussion in the ethics debate on substance use, decision-making, and responsibility. The model avoids a forced choice between brain disease and condition of a weak will, and thus provides a useful framework for overcoming a neuro-essentialist trap.
A client can meet the psychosocial needs previously satisfied by the drug culture in a number of ways. Strengthening cultural identity can be a positive action for the client; in some cases, the client’s family or cultural peers can serve as a replacement for involvement in the drug culture. This option is particularly helpful when the client’s connection to a drug culture is relatively weak and his or her traditional culture is relatively strong.
- Due to the sample profile of all White English-speaking individuals, this precluded exploration of perspectives informed by experience of receiving MOUD care delivered in an unfamiliar language and cultural context.
- The video below provides an overview of how the ASAM dimensions are applied by professional addictions counselors.
- They felt fear and guilt for their infants possibly having side effects, including withdrawals.
- Engel initiates inquiry like a pragmatist, he understands theory and philosophy like a pragmatist, he justifies beliefs like a pragmatist, and he understands the world like a pragmatist.
- To some extent, subcultures define themselves in opposition to the mainstream culture.
Psychological Dimension
IPT enhances interpersonal skills, enabling individuals to express their needs better and resolve conflicts constructively. This improvement in communication can combat feelings of loneliness and depression that often accompany addiction, providing a robust buffer against relapse triggers. Research supports the efficacy of IPT in treating not only substance use issues but also co-occurring conditions like major depression and anxiety. By nurturing supportive therapeutic relationships, IPT empowers clients to develop healthier coping strategies, ultimately leading to improved emotional well-being and stronger social connections necessary for sustained recovery.
Mental health conditions like depression and anxiety are often both causes and effects of substance abuse. The Behavioral Model of Addiction and the Social Model of Sober Houses Rules That You Should Follow Addiction both offer valuable insights that complement the biopsychosocial approach. By integrating these various perspectives, we can develop an even more comprehensive understanding of addiction. The way we think about ourselves, our substance use, and the world around us can either fuel addiction or help us overcome it. The Cognitive Behavioral Model of Addiction explores this in depth, showing how our thoughts and behaviors intertwine in the addiction process.
Brain systems that moderate feeling, memory, cognition, and engage the individual with the world influence the decision to consume or not consume a drug, or participate in a specific behaviour or series of actions. Accordingly, this cybernetic brain-environment interaction may trigger strong somatic signals such as desire, urge and anticipation (Verdejo-Garcia and Bechara 2009). In effect, this process may limit autonomy as it allows for “preference reversals” (Levy 2007a) to occur in situations where an individual would rather not use. Recent advances in neuroscience provide compelling evidence to support a medical perspective of problematic substance use and addiction (Dackis and O’Brien 2005). Despite these developments, the science is still in its early stages, and theories about how addiction emerges are neither universally accepted nor completely understood. Current ethical and legal debates in addiction draw upon new knowledge about the biological and neurological modification of the brain (Ashcroft, Campbell, and Capps 2007).
These studies illustrate significant improvements in drinking habits and mental health symptoms, reaffirming IPT’s potential in integrated treatment approaches. IPT distinguishes itself from other therapeutic approaches in addiction treatment by prioritizing the enhancement of interpersonal relationships and communication skills. Unlike cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which is more directive and focuses heavily on modifying thought patterns and behaviors, IPT adopts a less structured, more relationship-oriented approach. Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) has shown effective applications for individuals with co-occurring disorders, particularly for those grappling with both depression and addiction. One tailored approach is the Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression https://yourhealthmagazine.net/article/addiction/sober-houses-rules-that-you-should-follow/ and Pain (IPT-P).