Substance abusers seek help quitting drugs not as an end in itself, but as a means to escape these negative consequences and to gain a better life. Accordingly, while substance abuse treatment seeks to promote abstinence or at least significant reductions in substance use, its ultimate aim is to improve the patient’s quality of life (QOL). Unfortunately,
Clinicians tend to focus on symptoms, whereas for clients, symptom management is a means to an end.
Alexandre B. Laudet, Ph.D., presents current concepts of QOL and tools used to measure it, summarize recent paradigmatic shifts in the SUD field that are leading to an emerging interest in QOL, and review the evidence bearing on QOL in the treatment of addiction. Dr. Laudet also presents implications of incorporating QOL concepts into clinical practice and research.
Substance use disorders (SUDs) are characterized as “maladaptive patterns of substance use leading to clinically severe impairment or distress” potentially affecting physical or psychological functioning; personal safety; social relations, roles, and obligations; work; and other areas (American Psychiatric Association, 1994).
Substance use disorders are increasingly viewed as chronic conditions, and addiction treatment services are beginning to adopt models that were developed to address other chronic conditions. These models address the impact of disease and services on the patient’s overall well-being. From this perspective, treatment for addiction aims for the broad goal of recovery, which is defined as abstinence plus improved quality of life. However, the addiction field has come late to the chronic disease perspective, and the concept of quality of life in addiction is relatively undeveloped. This article reviews the evidence for the relevance of quality of life in substance use disorder treatment and recovery and discusses the importance of incorporating quality-of-life indices into research and services.
Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3188817/
Center for the Study of Addictions and Recovery, National Development and Research Institutes, New York, New York
CORRESPONDENCE: Alexandre Laudet, Center for the Study of Addictions and Recovery, National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., 71 West 23rd Street, 8th floor, New York, NY 10010; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2011 July; 6(1): 44–55.
PMCID: PMC3188817
