By Lisa Catanese
UCONN Today
Originally published June 2, 2012
Two prominent University of Connecticut Health Center researchers are adding their voices to a chorus of other national experts who are questioning proposed changes regarding substance abuse guidelines in a manual used internationally in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses.
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Babor’s reservations about the proposed changes concern the broadening of language defining addiction and the lowering of the threshold of what counts as a substance use disorder. The revisions would expand the number of symptoms of addiction, reduce the number required for a diagnosis, and introduce a “behavioral addiction” category – all of which could lead to millions more people being categorized as addicts when they in fact are simply unhealthy users. This could put a strain on already-limited resources in schools, prisons, and hospitals, he says.
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Kaminer is concerned about the impact of the proposed DSM changes from two perspectives – classifying too many people as having a problem while deterring adolescents from seeking treatment. “There are not enough resources right now,” he says. “This country is collapsing under the burden of health care. Is it necessary to expand diagnosis to include mild cases and yet push away prospective clients by calling them addicts?”
The entire story is here.
