Social psychiatry and addictions

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter deals with the historical and contemporary aspects of addictions and its relationship with social psychiatry. It is argued that the biopsychosocial model, despite its utility, has not quite lived up to its promise and the tendency towards binary thinking has been less than helpful. It is also argued that a common vocabulary constructed in order to work with related disciplines such as community psychology is the best way of building a common understanding and approach towards mental health and addiction. Power and its manifestation through social deprivation, social exclusion, social drift, and stigma is discussed in the context of addiction, and a range of evidence-based socially orientated interventions are described. The current impetus on implementing a public health approach to dealing with addictions, and the potential for social psychiatry to play a greater role along with areas for future research are presented.