Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy
Open Access

Abstract

Contrary to the understanding of two separate conditions, addiction and mental health, the history of human behavior teaches us that we obtain more results by focusing on the persons and their social ties than on the problems. Applied to addictions and mental health, the psychosocial approach can help us better understand the phenomenon by including not only the individual with the addiction and mental conditions but also his social ties. While most addiction problems are generally understood as individual and pathological problems, the aim of this conference is to propose a psychosocial perspective for this complex issue of dual diagnosis in a context of addictions. Can we move from a symptomatology approach to an etiology one while including the social determinants that gave birth to these conditions? If the power to change is within the patient how can we transfer it? Can the patient suffer without disappearing? In response to these issues, a contextualization and an illustration of the psychosocial perspective will be presented. Finally, the author will underline the perspective of DPA (development of the power to act) in the intervention process.

Biography

Email: suissa.amnon@uqam.ca