Workshop: Conceptualizing Addiction in Clinical Practice: Choice, Compulsion, and Responsibility-Conceptualizing Addiction in Clinical Practice: Choice, Compulsion, and Responsibility

Conceptualizing Addiction in Clinical Practice: Choice, Compulsion, and Responsibility

Video Transcription

Video Summary

In this workshop, the presenters discuss the conceptualization of addiction in clinical practice, particularly in relation to choice, compulsion, and responsibility. They explore the different views on addiction, with some seeing it as a chronic brain disease characterized by intense cravings and compulsion, while others view it as a choice that can be subject to self-control. These conflicting views raise questions about responsibility for addictive behavior. The workshop uses clinical vignettes to examine and challenge our understanding of addiction from various perspectives, including pharmacology, psychotherapy, trauma-informed treatment, and the law. The presenters emphasize the need for a trauma-informed approach when treating individuals with addiction, as trauma is often a co-occurring factor. They discuss the high prevalence of trauma in individuals with addiction and the impact it has on their mental health and substance use. The workshop also explores the legal aspects of addiction, particularly related to criminal responsibility. The presenters discuss two US Supreme Court cases that dealt with addiction and criminal responsibility, highlighting the challenges in determining to what extent addiction affects an individual's cognitive capacity and volitional control. Overall, the workshop aims to provide clinicians with a deeper understanding of addiction and its complexities to better inform their clinical and treatment decisions.

Keywords

addiction

clinical practice

choice

compulsion

responsibility

trauma-informed treatment

mental health

substance use

criminal responsibility

clinicians

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