ABSTRACT
In this chapter I want to expand on the description of addiction already made and attempt to show the clinical implications of this new way of viewing addiction. I am not laying out an explicitly existential way of treating addiction but rather the broader signposts that need to be born in mind whatever the clinician’s approach may be. It should also be kept in mind that there may be significant complexity in actually treating addictive conditions. First, many addicts have acquired serious physical health issues, including blood-borne viruses and liver and nervous system damage. Second, as is noted repeatedly above, addicts describe significant accounts of childhood deprivation and abuse. Linked to this is a large group of addicts who have other mental health problems. These so-called dual-diagnosis cases can be very challenging and the debate about whether to treat the addiction first, the mental health issue first or both simultaneously rages on (Mueser, Drake, Turner & McGovern, 2006). My experience is that it is preferable to treat both simultaneously, but often it is resources available that dictate what actually occurs.
