Drug and Alcohol Addiction

Drug and Alcohol Addiction

Drug and alcohol addicition is a user’s compulsive need to use drugs or alcohol in order to function normally. Addiction is a brain disease that affects multiple brain circuits, including those involved in reward and motivation, learning and memory, and inhibitory control over behavior.  When such substances are unobtainable, the user suffers from withdrawals.

The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (more specifically, the 2000“text revision”, the DSM-IV-TR) does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:

When an individual persists in use of alcohol or other drugs despite problems related to use of the substance, substance dependence may be diagnosed. Compulsive and repetitive use may result in tolerance to the effect of the drug and withdrawal symptoms when use is reduced or stopped.

Due to the many dimensions to drug and/or alcohol use and dependence, effective treatment typically incorporates many components.  Accordingly, effective treatment can help patients stop using, avoid relapse, and successfully recover their lives.

We provide outpatient treatment that addresses the above factors, as well as specializing in non-medicinal approaches to treat the impact on the brain to aid in improving the quality of life.