Models of Addiction and Relapse: A Biopsychosocial Approach Identity, Social Connection, and Loneliness

Understanding this aspect allows for a more holistic approach to providing support. It’s a journey into a vibrant landscape that can help to unlock hidden layers of a person’s life. Picture a form where questions delicately weave through the spiritual fabric of a client’s life, offering a holistic view of the person beyond mere physical or psychological aspects. Imagine a toolbox brimming with diverse instruments, each specifically designed to tap into the spiritual aspect of a client’s life. These tools, like the HOPE Questionnaire and the FICA spiritual history tool, help gauge the spiritual beliefs https://www.nikepresto.us/the-beginners-guide-to-2/ and practices that might influence a client’s coping strategies. Spirituality, often intertwined with culture and community, can significantly influence a person’s behavior, decision-making, and coping mechanisms, thus pivotal in their overall health.

Action, subjective experience of action, and consequently responsibility for action is mediated by many factors, including psychological phenomenon such as an individual’s emotional processes. As a point of illustration, Damasio’s (1994) somatic marker hypothesis (SMH) provides a helpful perspective on integrating the neuropsychological domain of decision-making and human interaction with the social environment. The SMH proposes a mechanism where emotion guides or significantly influences behaviour, particularly decision-making. The brain responds to particular social cues that may provide instant pleasure, or regulate biological homeostasis, such as relief from withdrawal (Li and Sinha 2008). 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).

• The complex combination of biological, psycho-social and systemic factors may explain why it is so difficult for some individuals to refuse drugs in the face of increasingly negative consequences.
• While the practicality of biopsychosocial systems model may allow for a more integrative explanation for addiction, it does not explain addiction entirely.
• In addition, social support can reduce the stress of individuals with chronic diseases, increase their self-confidence, and facilitate coping with the disease and medication adherence.
• Studies have consistently shown that the absence of structured support drastically lowers the chances of sustained recovery.
• The social dimension is considered to be vitally important, it is the immediate interpersonal domain that is most proximal to the person who develops an addictive disorder.

Data availability

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). Chronic respiratory disease was added as a covariate in all models because of the well-known association between COPD and cognitive impairments, as well as psychological distress (i.e., anxiety and depression)38,39,40. In past years many models of the causes of addictions have been proffered, but it is only in the past few years that the neuroscience has had new tools to probe how the mind works in real time. We have greatly increased our knowledge of addictions from the study of the neurochemistry and neural pathways of the brain.

Creating a Comprehensive Treatment Plan

The biopsychosocial systems model is grounded in systems theory in which knowledge occurs at the intersection of the subjective and the objective, and not as an independent reality. This is a radical departure from the traditional positivist epistemology, which relies on https://www.riverjordan.us/the-10-most-unanswered-questions-about/ empirical study and material proof (Bunge 1979; Heylighen, Cilliers, and Gerschenson 2007). Such new iterations of systems theory concentrate on the cognitive and social processes wherein the construction of subjective knowledge occurs. The dynamic within these relationships can contribute to or inhibit the emergence of a complex behaviour such as problematic substance use, while regulating both inputs and outputs from changing internal and external environments.

Cultural Dimension

The disorder becomes a source of pride, and people may celebrate their drug-related identity with other members of the culture (Pearson and Bourgois 1995; White 1996). Social stigma also aids in the formation of oppositional values and beliefs that can promote unity among members of the drug culture. This chapter aims to explain that people who use drugs participate in a drug culture, and further, that they value this participation. White (1996) draws attention to a set of individuals whom he calls “acultural addicts.” These people initiate and sustain their substance use in relative isolation from other people who use drugs. Although drug cultures typically play a greater role in the lives of people who use illicit drugs, people who use legal substances—such as alcohol—are also likely to participate in such a culture (Gordon et al. 2012).

Assessing Social Support

Approximately 40% of individuals relapse within three months of quitting without formal intervention, and only about 25–30% maintain abstinence after one year (McLellan et al., 2000; Moos & Moos, 2006). So, how does all this theoretical knowledge translate into practical treatment approaches? It’s like using a sledgehammer to swat a fly – it might work in the short term, but it’s going to cause a lot of damage in the process. Mental health disorders and addiction often go hand in hand, like peanut butter and jelly – except far less delicious and far more destructive. Depression, anxiety, PTSD – these conditions can both contribute to and be exacerbated by addiction.

We examine heroin-assisted treatment as an applied case example within our framework. We conclude with a discussion of the model and its implications for drug policy, research, addiction health care systems and delivery, and treatment of substance use problems. When evaluating medication adherence levels of individuals with chronic diseases, healthcare professionals should not forget that it is a multidimensional concept and should be evaluated together with psychological, social, and spiritual variables.

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It offers a road map for navigating complex histories and experiences, ultimately leading to a more personalized and effective intervention. The BPSS encourages clinicians to view each client as a unique tapestry woven with threads from different spheres of life. It’s like piecing together a puzzle, each piece essential and interconnected, creating a complete picture of an individual’s health. The term “psychology” refers to a behavioural process that relates to motivation, emotions, mood, or the mind. Informed by science, many psychological models, govern our understanding of addiction. When we look at classical and operant conditioning to social learning theory, the transtheoretical model and the behavioural perspective we can see how the psychological dimension strongly affects addiction.

• The increase in life expectancy and the aging of the world population have led to an alarming increase in the frequency of chronic diseases (Boersma et al., 2020; Shi et al., 2021).
• This model provides a holistic framework for exploring the causes, progression, and treatment of addiction.
• “Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale” was used to evaluate the social dimension.
• As the architect of recovery, the counselor expertly navigates the path, ensuring each step moves the individual closer to their desired destination.

COVID-19 illness severity

In terms of cognitive processes, research has shown that individuals with addiction often exhibit distorted thinking patterns, such as denial, rationalization, and minimization of their substance use or addictive behaviors. These cognitive distortions can serve to maintain addiction by justifying continued substance use or impeding the individual’s ability to recognize the negative consequences of their behavior. Many individuals struggling with addiction have a history of trauma or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as physical or emotional abuse, neglect, or the loss of a loved one (Hays-Grudo et al., 2021). These experiences can create deep psychological wounds that make it difficult for individuals to manage stress and regulate their emotions. Additionally, chronic use can impair the prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for decision-making, impulse control, and self-regulation (Koob et al., 2023). This impairment makes it difficult for individuals to stop using substances or engaging in addictive behaviors, even when they recognize the negative consequences.

Integrated Treatment Approaches

While this course centers on the Compensatory Model, the usefulness of the other frameworks should not be dismissed. Depending on the client’s beliefs, integrating spiritual models or biological understandings may enhance the effectiveness of treatment. This flexibility aligns with a person-centered approach that respects individual differences and worldviews (Prochaska & Norcross, 2018). Addiction is often described as a brain disease because it alters the brain’s structure and function (Koob et al., 2023). The repeated use of addictive substances or engagement in addictive behaviors hijacks the brain’s reward circuitry, primarily in regions such as the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex. Over time, the brain becomes dependent on the substance or behavior to maintain normal functioning, leading to tolerance (needing more of the substance to achieve the same effect) and withdrawal symptoms when the substance is removed.