How Addicts Are Assessed

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Many treatment units have their own tools used for the assessment of patients or clients, that will be based on proven models of assessment and adapted to their particular specifications. They will usually include some degree of each of the following aspects: - behavioural patterns, psychological issues, biological influence and social concerns.

Considerations of issues to be assessed may include frequency, amount, duration, patterns, matters of control, impact on life and potential consequences; these can be applied to any addiction.

The assessor will use the results to discover whether the addiction is due to a physical dependence or whether the individual has a psychological addiction. It is important to discover this in order to establish the correct plan of care.

Physical addictions are usually found in those hooked on tobacco, alcohol and most substances in general, whereas psychological dependence is found in those suffering with addictions such as gambling, internet and sex.


Techniques Used
Assessment can be achieved by using any or all of the following methods:- question and answer (either written or verbal) using a mixture of closed and open ended questions, observations, testimonies from others and using a scoring system against set out criteria.

One of the most commonly used tool for assessing addicts (especially those with a habit for drugs and alcohol) is the European Addiction Severity Index. This instrument will provide a score for the person; a high score indicates a greater need for treatment. To find this score information such as history, frequency, consequences, medical issues, legal matters, employment, social factors, family and psychological profile is used, and results are interpreted and used to plan an effective and appropriate plan of care tailored to the individuals needs.

All units will have developed a tool that they use for assessing the level of a person’s addiction. The results of these assessments may tally with or vary greatly from the individual’s perception of their problem.

The internet offers a world of possibilities

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- the problem is that it can be an addictive world. At it's simplest level spending too much time in front of the monitor, and insufficient time on a relationship, can undermine the closeness, build barriers, and lead into problems that are increasingly difficult to deal with.

At it's worst, the net can be a source of erotic fantasy, pornography, illicit relationships, cyber-affairs, and ultimately the destruction of a normal healthy marriage

recent survey of more than 1100 personnel administrators

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recent survey of more than 1100 personnel administrators concluded that drug and alcohol abuse are more likely to cost a person their job than incompetence. Drug abuse has affected every area of society; the music business is no exception.

Some believe that drug addiction is more pervasive in show business, while others counter that this perception exists only because of the high-profile nature of the industry. The fact that drug addiction crops up everywhere suggests that it is an illness particular to human nature, not a specific industry.

There is little solace in this however, when a musician you know becomes difficult to get along with, unreliable or untrustworthy, incapable of performing, or even violent due to their worsening drug or alcohol problem. It would be wonderful if we lived in a world free of drugs and drug addiction, but until that day arrives musicians may find themselves inadvertently working with others who have become victims of this very serious illness. What follows is some helpful perspective and advice for those who are struggling with this situation, or those who simply wish to know more about it.


There are a myriad of attitudes concerning drug addiction, and drug addicts. (From here on we will refer to persons addicted to drugs and/or alcohol as one group: drug addicts.) Unfortunately, there are still those who believe this condition to be the result of poor judgement, or perhaps a flawed character. The consensus among modern health care professionals, including the American Medical Association (AMA), is that drug addiction is a disease. Theories concerning its origins embody the classic "nature vs. nurture" arguments: Does one become an addict because of genetics, environment and upbringing, or a combination thereof? It may be safely concluded that the origins of drug addiction are many, and complex.

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Every so often a drug comes along that is touted by doctors and, more loudly, by its manufacturers as the 'next big thing'. Such drugs invariably receive coverage in the general media to a far greater extent than is usually afforded to a new drug, news of which is usually restricted to specialist publications.
In June, 2006, the drug rimonabant1 was approved for doctors in the UK to prescribe, with other countries in the European Union expected to follow suit. This news made British newspapers such as The Times. Even before the drug was approved, stories were starting to appear in places such as The Guardian newspaper and the BBC news website. Coverage of this sort is usually reserved for the latest cancer drug but, in the early 21st Century, obesity is such an enormous health issue that a drug which can stop people from over-eating and help them to shed weight is newsworthy indeed. This is precisely what the makers and supporters of rimonabant claim it is able to do.

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The paint stripper drug that kill
An industrial solvent used to clean graffiti has become the potentially lethal drug of choice for some on the gay clubbing scene.
Another Saturday night, another ambulance outside a night club. But this is not the aftermath of a drunken brawl in binge-drinking Britain.
The medics are there to attend to someone overdosed on an industrial cleaner - GBL - and it's a scene which has been repeated a dozen times in one night.
Gamma butyrolactone, to give it its full name, has a similar effect to GHB, the "date-rape" drug made illegal in 2003 and which is equally popular in some gay clubs. They produce a euphoric high or, if too much is taken, nausea and unconsciousness.