Fundamentals of Being an Addict, Being Addicted and Both: Relevant Interventions

This workshop makes a crucially significant distinction between being an addict and becoming addicted. While all addicts invariably become addicted, not all addicted individuals are addicts. This distinction informs what strategies are more likely to lead to achieving and maintaining abstinence for both groups of individuals regardless of the means by which they achieve an altered state.

Common to both groups, and that which obstructs them from gaining control over their markedly debilitating propensities, is the defence mechanism of denial. This is the equivalent to the first in a twelve step self help program. Without addressing this issue, even the appropriate intervention strategy will fail to produce sustainable positive results. As such, the workshop extensively deals with the importance of the first step before any other work can begin.