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Addiction
A psychological dependency to a substance (i.e., alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, etc.) or behavior (i.e., gambling, sex, gaming, etc.) that sometimes can involve a physical dependency as well.Dependency
Any reliance to a substance or behavior, either psychologically or physically. While rare, some people can develop a physical dependency to a substance without a psychological one, and thus do not have an addiction (i.e., person who uses
prescription opioid medication to relieve a pain condition who inadvertently become physically reliant on it).
Behavioral Dependency
Term I created that is synonymous with addiction. I feel this is a better, less stigmatizing term (as the term “addiction” nowadays unfortunately has such a negative connotation). It is all-encompassing and describes ANY behavioral pattern that one becomes reliant on.
Substance Abuse
An outdated term that refers to a person who binge uses a substance but is not dependent or addicted to it (at least not yet).
Substance Misuse
A newer term replacing “substance abuse”, which implied that the person is trying to harm him/herself, that rather implies that the person is not using a substance in a responsible manner.
Compulsive Behavior
Any behavior that one feels compelled to repeat, and thus becomes a pattern, and it can be either positive, negative, or neutral (also known as a “habit”).
Alcoholic/Addict
Outdated terms that mean the person has a disease and thus no control over his/her drinking/drug using behavior and implies a dichotomous classification (as in you either are or are not an “alcoholic/addict”); these terms are associated with Anonymous/12-Step Groups). These are not diagnostic terms and have no meaning in professional mental health services.
Substance Use Disorder
A newer term that simply means the person has developed a problematic pattern of usage with a substance and implies that these problems occur on a continuum from mild to severe. People are considered “addicted” usually at the moderate and severe levels.
Addiction Treatment
A program of intervention provided by a licensed mental health professional (i.e., psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, etc.) who specializes is addiction that involves intensive psychotherapy/talk therapy and/or medication. (Note: Any “treatment” that only involves medication will be lacking in potential effectiveness.)
Addiction Therapy
A type of treatment provided by a licensed mental health professional who specializes in addiction, an Addiction Therapist, that solely involves intensive psychotherapy/talk therapy and thus no medication. The large majority of people struggling with an addition should start with this specific type of treatment before considering additional medication, coaching, or other types of interventions/services.
Addiction Counseling
Tends to be a less intensive intervention, as it is more generally supportive counseling as opposed to in-depth psychotherapy.
Addiction/Recovery Coaching
A non-professional type of “mentoring”, in which a “coach” helps someone stay motivated to pursue his/her goals usually of abstinence/sobriety. This service is not usually sufficient to help someone overcome an addiction but can be helpful in conjunction with addiction treatment.
Anonymous Groups/12-Step Programs
Developed by a non-mental health professional, a stock broker who was addicted to alcohol, that are based on an assumption that addiction is a disease and can only be overcome by a person following spiritually-based “steps”; the philosophy of these Groups is not based on any evidence or theories of mental health and seems to only be useful to very specific types of people.
