L’addictologie est-elle une spécialisation de la psychiatrie ?

Abstract

The addictive behavior is defined as “a strong, long-lasting and excessive trend to make a commitment in behavior of production of pleasure or avoidance of negative affects” (A. Goodman). Epidemiological data show that patients receiving psychiatric care frequently have, besides the mental pathology for which they are followed, substance use disorders. It is thus particularly important to detect and to take care of the consumptions of psychoactive substances by the patients followed in psychiatry, not only to improve the forecast of the substance use disorder, prevent or handle the somatic complications, but also to improve the forecast of the associated psychiatric disorder. The integrated care seems the best adapted. We try to show it through a clinical illustration. In the discussion part, we try to highlight that addictology corresponds to a common, clinical, scientific and political approach of all the substance disorders and that this discipline becomes completely integrated into the field of psychiatry.