Business & Practice Areas: Addiction Disorders
Although first recognized as a disease in 1956 by the American Medical Association, until recently, little progress has been made in understanding and managing addiction as a chronic health condition. Addiction affects millions of individuals and families every year, yet it is often undiagnosed or ignored, resulting in incredible costs. In a recent survey, 63 percent of those polled said addiction had an impact on their lives, and for most the addiction was among a family member. The annual combined costs incurred by healthcare, lost productivity, and crime related to untreated addiction have been estimated at $365 billion.
Tools and Resources
Federal Agencies
The National Council works to ensure that prevention and treatment services for addictions are covered by public and private payers similarly to other chronic conditions and provides practice improvement resources to members.
The National Council is a proud partner in National Alcohol and Drug Recovery Month in September.
New SAMHSA survey released during Recovery Month reveals positive outcomes from treating addictions
Find a Provider
To find an addictions treatment provider near you, use the "Find a Provider" bar on the right of this page to search by state.Real Stories, Real People
Read about the challenges that people with addiction disorders face and the help they get through community-based treatment and care.Fact Sheets
- Preventing and treating substance use disorders: a comprehensive approach
- Substance use and child welfare
- Access to treatment for justice involved individuals
Publications and Reports
- Addictions News Now, a monthly National Council e-newsletter featuring policy and practice news and tools
- National Council Magazine issue on Treating Addiction Disorders
- State Healthcare Reforms for Uninsured Fail to Address High Percentage of Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders, a report by the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare and NAMI.
- "Co-occurring Disorders—Progress?" article by Linda Rosenberg in Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research, April 2008
- Addictions, Mental Health Must Join Forces, article by Linda Rosenberg and Pat Bridgman in Addiction Professional, March-April 2008
- 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, SAMHSA's latest study on addictions prevalence and consequences in the United States
- National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIII: Teens and Parents, a back-to-school survey by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University
- Medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders
- Life After Lockup: Improving Reentry from Jail to the Community, a publication of the Urban Institute Justice Policy Center
- High rates, rising costs of alcohol/drug disorders in hospitalized patients, Health & Medicine, June 2008
- The Economic Costs of Drug Abuse in the United States, Office of National Drug Control Policy
In the News
- After the Battle, Fighting the Bottle at Home, New York Times, July 2008 Highlights growing alcohol abuse among veterans of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.
- Not Winning the War on Drugs, New York Times, July 2008
Drug abuse is more a public health concern and not primarily a law enforcement problem.
- Me and My Girls, New York Times Magazine, July 2008
A person in recovery from crack cocaine addiction describes his life decisions, experiences as a single parent, and with foster care and the welfare system. - Communities Pay for High Prison Rate, Wall Street Journal, July 2008
Fast-growing prison populations add to communities' financial burdens. - The Hunt for an Addiction Vaccine, Newsweek, March 2008
Tools and Resources
- Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment:
Alcohol Training Toolkit
Released by the Emergency Nurses Association in 2008, this toolkit features a downloadable guide to alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment. - Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention for Trauma Patients: Committee on Trauma Quick Guide
Document outlines steps to plan for screening of at-risk alcohol behaviors. - The National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices NREPP is a searchable database of interventions for the prevention and treatment of mental and substance use disorders. SAMHSA has developed this resource to help people, agencies, and organizations implement programs and practices in their communities.
- Treatment Improvement Protocols
Developed by SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, the Treatment Improvement Protocols are best practice guidelines for the treatment of substance abuse. - SAMHSA Health Information Network
The SAMHSA Health Information Network includes the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information and the National Mental Health Information Center. SHIN connects the behavioral health workforce and the general public to the latest information on the prevention and treatment of mental and substance use disorders. - National Addiction Technology Transfer Center is funded by SAMHSA to upgrade the skills of existing practitioners and other health professionals and to disseminate the latest science to the treatment community.
- Web-based tool to help state and local officials improve prisoner/inmate reentry
This tool was developed by Council of State Governments to familiarize state and local government officials with different assessment instruments used in corrections systems across the nation to gauge the risks and needs of someone admitted to prison or jail.
Federal Agencies
- National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism provides leadership in the national effort to reduce alcohol-related problems.
- National Institutes of Health, The National Institute on Drug Abuse brings the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a federal agency that works to improve the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, alcohol and drug addiction treatment, and mental health services.
- Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research is home to research centers that specialize in major areas of healthcare research.
- Office of National Drug Control Policy establishes policies, priorities, and objectives for the nation's drug control program.
National Organizations
- American Society for Addiction Medicine improves the care and treatment of people with addiction and advances the practice of addiction medicine.
- Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America works to strengthen the capacity of community coalitions in their effort to create and maintain safe, healthy, and drug-free communities.
- Faces and Voices of Recovery mobilizes the millions of Americans in long-term recovery from alcohol and other drug addiction to speak with one voice.
- Join Together helps communities respond to the harm caused by addictions by providing free internet services — online campaigns, direct technical assistance, and the development of research-based policy proposals.
- National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment
educates the public about the disease of opioid addiction and the buprenorphine treatment option.
- NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals serves addiction counselors, educators and other addiction-focused healthcare professionals.
- Nurse-Family Partnership is an evidence-based, nurse home visiting program that improves the health, well-being and self-sufficiency of low-income, first-time parents and their children.
- Partnership for a Drug-Free America unites parents, renowned scientists, and communications professionals to help families raise healthy children.
- Reclaiming Futures, a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, helps young people in trouble with drugs, alcohol, and crime by reinventing the way police, courts, detention facilities, treatment providers, and the community work together.
- Treatment Research Institute is a research and development organization dedicated to reducing the devastating effects of alcohol and other drug abuse on individuals, families and communities.
