Evaluating the Brain Disease Model of Addiction

"This book is an exceptionally wide-ranging exploration of the contested terrain of human troubles labelled addiction. The distinguished editors have invited the best brains across the various fields that bear upon addiction -- those who advocate the brain disease view, those opposed, and those carving creative paths in between. It will stand as the definitive inter-disciplinary collection on the brain disease paradigm and its alternatives, providing lively, point-for-point debates about the nature of addiction and why this matters."

Craig Reinarman, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA

"This collection presents an excellent, well-balanced overview of different views on the brain disease model of addiction. Eminent international authors from a variety of theoretical and disciplinary perspectives discuss the emergence of the model and its growing popularity, challenges to the model and possible novel alternatives. Divided into four sections - for, against, unsure and innovative ideas – the book is informative, stimulating and a welcome reminder that the brain disease model is still far from universally accepted."

Betsy Thom, Middlesex University, UK

"What an exceptional book this is! Although understanding addiction as a ‘brain disease’ is accepted by many, it is in fact a controversial approach, contested by a large number of leading researchers, theoreticians and practitioners. This book offers a wonderfully encyclopaedic and yet very clear road map of this contested space. Divided into four stimulating sections (for, against, unsure, alternatives) the book brings together almost all of the leading figures in this debate, allowing all voices to be heard and yet also offering a clear set of statements from the Editors of the position that they hold. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in this area, from novices through to ‘experts’."

Richard Velleman, University of Bath, UK and Addictions Research Group, Sangath, India

"This book provides a rich compendium of seminal papers in the addiction field positioned alongside ground-breaking new contributions that consider the biopsychosocial, policy, and public health implications of a variety of models of addiction, as well as the specific benefits and downsides of the brain disease model. This book does way more than evaluate the brain disease model – it also provides a compelling retrospective and encourages introspection of our beliefs and attitudes about addiction. It also provides fascinating and thoughtful alternative models that have great potential to change how we study, treat, and frame addiction. Over the course of 44 chapters, Evaluating the Brain Disease Model of Addiction presents a paradigm shift and a call for us to reconsider how we study and conceptualize addiction. The overarching conclusion that is quite evident from reading this book is that, as a field, we have been asking the wrong questions. The chapters in this exceptionally curated book provide a plethora of ideas for alternative questions and conceptualizations that might ultimately reduce human suffering."

Katie Witkiewitz, University of New Mexico, USA

"This book is an exceptionally wide-ranging exploration of the contested terrain of human troubles labelled addiction. The distinguished editors have invited the best brains across the various fields that bear upon addiction -- those who advocate the brain disease view, those opposed, and those carving creative paths in between. It will stand as the definitive inter-disciplinary collection on the brain disease paradigm and its alternatives, providing lively, point-for-point debates about the nature of addiction and why this matters."

Craig Reinarman, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA

"This collection presents an excellent, well-balanced overview of different views on the brain disease model of addiction. Eminent international authors from a variety of theoretical and disciplinary perspectives discuss the emergence of the model and its growing popularity, challenges to the model and possible novel alternatives. Divided into four sections - for, against, unsure and innovative ideas – the book is informative, stimulating and a welcome reminder that the brain disease model is still far from universally accepted."

Betsy Thom, Middlesex University, UK

"What an exceptional book this is! Although understanding addiction as a ‘brain disease’ is accepted by many, it is in fact a controversial approach, contested by a large number of leading researchers, theoreticians and practitioners. This book offers a wonderfully encyclopaedic and yet very clear road map of this contested space. Divided into four stimulating sections (for, against, unsure, alternatives) the book brings together almost all of the leading figures in this debate, allowing all voices to be heard and yet also offering a clear set of statements from the Editors of the position that they hold. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in this area, from novices through to ‘experts’."

Richard Velleman, University of Bath, UK and Addictions Research Group, Sangath, India

"This book provides a rich compendium of seminal papers in the addiction field positioned alongside ground-breaking new contributions that consider the biopsychosocial, policy, and public health implications of a variety of models of addiction, as well as the specific benefits and downsides of the brain disease model. This book does way more than evaluate the brain disease model – it also provides a compelling retrospective and encourages introspection of our beliefs and attitudes about addiction. It also provides fascinating and thoughtful alternative models that have great potential to change how we study, treat, and frame addiction. Over the course of 44 chapters, Evaluating the Brain Disease Model of Addiction presents a paradigm shift and a call for us to reconsider how we study and conceptualize addiction. The overarching conclusion that is quite evident from reading this book is that, as a field, we have been asking the wrong questions. The chapters in this exceptionally curated book provide a plethora of ideas for alternative questions and conceptualizations that might ultimately reduce human suffering."

Katie Witkiewitz, University of New Mexico, USA

"As well as giving an excellent overview of the debate on how to conceptualize addiction, this book also raises questions about the essence of science. Rejecting a neopositivist view, according to which science is almost exclusively data driven, the debate on the brain disease model of addiction (BDMA) shows that science is about the interpretation of data and model building, and that these models can have a profound impact on the way we deal with social realities. While no pathognomonic brain lesions have been identified that can be used for diagnosing addiction, proponents of the BDMA have argued that understanding addiction as a brain disease would be helpful for overcoming stigma and improving treatment. However, 25 years after the first seminal paper introducing the BDMA, effects on treatment and public policies are, at best, modest, and the ‘othering’ associated with the BDMA apparently has unintended side effects. This book brings together a plethora of perspectives on the validity and utility of the BDMA from distinguished experts from addiction research as well as from the humanities, including proponents and critics of the model as well as authors who consider themselves ‘undecided’."

Gallus Bischof, University of Lűbeck, Germany