I'll be doing a series of articles in this blog about the most common myths surrounding addiction and its effective treatment over the course of the coming weeks. 

There is a lot of new scientific information available about dependencies. Because much of this data is so new and much about drug and alcohol use, abuse and addiction is related to belief systems, it's no wonder there are so many myths about addiction treatment.

Much of this new information is thanks to organisations like America’s National Institute on Drug Abuse and the fantastic people who work there, like Dr. Nora D. Volkow, people who are devoted to reducing the stigma associated with addiction and increasing the numbers of people in treatment and addiction treatment's overall efficacy. In 2004, at the inaugural UK/European Symposium on Addictive Disorders I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Carlton Erickson, professor of Pharmacology/Toxicologyand Director of the AddictionScience Research and Education Center at the University of Texas, speaking about neurobiology and treatment. One of the key facets of Dr. Erickson’s presentation was distinguishing between the terms ‘addiction’ and ‘dependence’. These days it seems we all hear of someone who’s absolutely ‘addicted’ to shopping, shoes, chocolate etc. and whilst addiction is a term we’re all familiar with it may be more accurate to refer to people as being ’dependent’. The ICD-10 and DSM-IV criteria for dependence are clear, and as a clinical term dependence is far better suited.Thanks to people like these and many others the advancement in our understanding of addiction is growing. This information is important as it applies in a very real and practical way to the addiction professionals who are engaged in delivering services to our loved ones on a day to day basis.Check back in over the coming weeks to hear more about the Myths surrounding Addiction treatment.

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