Normative thinking about addiction has traditionally been divided between, on the one hand, a medical model which sees addiction as a disease characterized by compulsive and relapsing drug use over which the addict has little or no control and, on the other, a moral model which sees addiction as a choice characterized by voluntary behavior under the control of the addict. Proponents of the former appeal to evidence showing that regular consumption of drugs causes persistent changes in the brain structures and functions known to be involved in the motivation of behavior. On this evidence, it is often concluded that becoming addicted involves a transition from voluntary, chosen drug use to non-voluntary compulsive drug use. Against this view, proponents of the moral model provide ample evidence that addictive drug use involves voluntarily chosen behavior. In this article, we argue that although they are right about something, both views are mistaken. We present a third model that neither rules out the view of addictive drug use as compulsive nor that it involves voluntarily chosen behavior.
This course is based on the reading-based online article, Addiction As a Choice created by Edmund Henden, PhD. et al in 2018.
Publication Date
June 2018
Course Material Authors
Course Material Authors authored the material only, and were not involved in creating this CE course. They are identified here for your own evaluation of the relevancy of the material this course is based on.
Edmund Henden, PhD.
Edmund Henden is Professor of Professional Ethics and Philosophy of Science at the Centre for the Study of Professions, Oslo and Akershus. His research interests are in the fields of Professional Ethics, Moral Psychology, Action Theory and the Philosophy of the Social Sciences.
Stanton Peele, PhD
Stanton Peele is a clinical psychologists who has worked in the addiction field for more than 40 years. He is an national and international presenter and has published more than 250 articles and books.
L.A. Rankin is a social worker with experience in many different settings with a variety of clients. She has worked with dementia and Alzheimers patients, dual diagnosis MH/MR, in a battered women’s shelter, and a rape crisis center. She also has 11 years of experience as a child protective social worker, where she earned certificates in domestic abuse/family violence and substance abuse.
Recommended For
Counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychologists and social workers. This course is appropriate for all levels of knowledge.
Course Objectives:
After taking this course, you should be able to:
Acknowledge the philosophical and economic theory behind free will and addiction.
Identify the current medical based theory of addiction and its pitfalls.
Extrapolate that the vast majority of clients abstain from substances or reduce their use in natural recovery without any formal treatment.
Availability
This course is available starting Jul 15th, 2019 and expires Jan 4th, 2038
Disclosure to Learners
Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships
CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited
Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity –
including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial
relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).
The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity's planners, faculty, and
the reviewer:
Planners and Reviewers
The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.
Material Authors
Any relevant financial disclosures for course material authors can be found in the article.
Course Creator
L.A. Rankin – There are no relevant disclosures.
Commercial support
There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.
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