Psychology of Addiction

Psychology of Addiction

Introduction

Addiction is an intricate illness characterized by intense and uncontrollable craving of something commonly drugs which is usually accompanied by devastating consequences. At initial stages individuals take the drugs voluntarily but over time, their ability to stay away from drugs becomes compromised and it forces them to seek, find and consume them. Addiction is a brain disease caused by prolonged exposure of drugs on brain functioning. It affects a number brain channels, including those involved in memory and learning, reward and motivation and inhibitory control over behaviors (source/citation?). (This is very specific information that due to the clinical nature necessarily came from one of your sources and/or is not common knowledge. As such a citation is required.)

Treatment of drug abuse and addiction is not simple owing to the fact that addiction is diverse and affects many aspects in an individual’s life. This paper is going to address various models that describe effective etiology of addiction. An addicted person should be helped by the treatment to cease drug abuse, maintain a lifestyle that is drug free and be a productive and responsible member of the society. Because addiction is a chronic disease, victims require long-term care to achieve the definitive goal of permanent abstinence and resurgence of their lives (Booth, 1997).

Effective treatment models (The topic of this paper was models that describe etiology of addiction rather than treatment.)

Combination of medication and behavioral therapy plays a major role in overall addiction treatment process that usually commences with detoxification, followed by treatment and prevention of relapse. The following models describe how the overall addiction treatment process can be conducted to render the victims drug-free lives (source/citation?).

Medications model

The detoxification stage of medications helps in repressing withdrawal symptoms. However, patients who are medically assisted to handle withdrawals and left at that stage often abuse drugs just like those who were never treated. Medication can be used to help diminish cravings, prevent relapse and restore normal brain functioning. There are medications for alcohol addiction, opioids, tobacco, stimulants and even cannabis (marijuana) (source/citation?).

Opioids: Buprenorphine, methadone and, for some patients, naltrexone are effective drugs for opiate addiction treatment. These medications act on the same points in the brain as morphine and heroine and therefore they suppress all withdrawals and stop that strong urge to consume them. The patients are helped by the medications to extricate from drug seeking and related unlawful behavior (source/citation?).

There are three medications approved for treatment of alcohol addiction: acamprosate, disulfiram and naltrexone. The latter inhibits opioid receptors that are concerned with effects of alcohol drinking and craving. It minimizes relapse to overindulgence in alcohol and is highly effective in most patients. Disulfiram makes the patient to be uncomfortable with alcohol as it produces distasteful reaction that includes palpitations and nausea if the patient drinks alcohol. Acamprosate serves to minimize withdrawal symptoms such as restlessness, anxiety and insomnia (Lance, 2002).

Behavioral treatment model

The patients are assisted by behavioral treatments to modify their behaviors and attitudes related to substance abuse. These treatments also enable patients to stay in treatment for longer periods and thus enhancing the effectiveness of medications. This model also presents other forms of behavioral treatment such as:

“ Cognitive-behavioral therapy, which helps individuals” under treatment “to recognize, avoid and cope with situations that” can lead to relapse; multi-dimensional family psychoanalysis which addresses various influences of patterns of drug abuse and also seeks to recover overall functioning of the family; motivational incentives which make use of positive support to encourage abstinence among patients and motivational interviewing which takes advantage of individuals’ willingness to enter treatment and change their behavior (source/citation?). ( The portions in quotation marks are word for word identical to an online source. However, they are not in quotation marks. Of greater concern, there is not citation for the quoted material and related content. )

Residential treatment programs can also offer much help especially to very rigorous cases. Therapeutic communities (TCs), for instance, are well established programs in which addiction victims typically remain at a residence for up to 12 months. The principal difference between TCs and other treatment models is that they use community as major agent of change to influence individuals’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviors linked to drug abuse.

Patients with long histories of drug abuse can also make use of TCs. They are also tailored to accommodate ladies who are married and have kids.

Biopsychosocial model

This model explains the complex relations between the biological, psychological and social facets of addiction. Its ability to explain the intricate nature of addiction has made it very useful by researchers. Initially, this model was designed as an option to the existing biomedical model (source/citation?).

A few decades later it was articulated by Flores (2007, para. # ) ( Include a page or paragraph number in the citation in the case of a direct quote.) for addictive behaviors in recognition that alcohol and drinking problems are diverse. Intense assessment that could consider “ biological, psychological and social” facets of the patient’s life that “are affected by drinking” These portions are also directly quoted, but not in quotation marks. While there is a citation here, there is no paragraph number in the citation to indicate directly quoted content. was recommended. Since then the concept of biopsychosocial model has been expanded to cater for the multi-dimensional pathways to addiction such as learned behavior, impact of one’s family and the need for self medication.

What is the history of each model? Which model most closely aligns with your philosophy? What is the role of genetics, heredity and DNA?

References

Booth, J.(1997) : The myth of addiction: Harwood Academic Publishers

Flores, P. (2007): Group psychotherapy with addicted populations: An integration of twelve-step and psychodynamic theory: Haworth Press, Inc

Lance, D.(2002): The heart of addictions: New York: Harper Collins

�This is very specific information that due to the clinical nature necessarily came from one of your sources and/or is not common knowledge. As such a citation is required.

�The topic of this paper was models that describe etiology of addiction rather than treatment.

�The portions in quotation marks are word for word identical to an online source. However, they are not in quotation marks. Of greater concern, there is not citation for the quoted material and related content.

�Include a page or paragraph number in the citation in the case of a direct quote.

�These portions are also directly quoted, but not in quotation marks. While there is a citation here, there is no paragraph number in the citation to indicate directly quoted content.