53185 - Drug Addiction Psychology and Epidemiology

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to: have a background about drug addiction as a more and more important factor in psychical uneasiness; study the different forms of physical uneasiness which are connected  to drug addiction.

Course contents

In this course some clinical experiences will be presented. They give prominence to the importance of psychiatric and pharmacological knowledge, in order to manage the drug addict-substance relation.
Clinical experience starts by the interview with drug addict; this observation point is fundamental to notice his drug consumption. To effectively manage this contact, it's important to know some essential psychopathological elements and classificatory systems of mental disorders. Drug addict understanding needs both symptomathology and psychodynamics knowledge.

Psychopharmacology is chosen as a direct access to the comprehension of drug addiction. Drugs hit brain and generate hard symptoms, over dependence and abstinence phenomena. Every substance has its own effect on brain; several recent researches study them by action process and proved damage terms; then, it's inevitable to know these drugs by most recent psychopharmacological analyses.

Once understood general elements of psychical uneasiness, particularly for drug addiction, and once studied several substance types, it's possible to complete a drug addict's outlook. In this way, epidemiological aspects of drug addiction are not separated from phenomenon objectivity, and become their definition elements. To complete substance and drug addict definitions, two further factors will be considered:
- HIV infection and its psychological implications;
- the so-called dual diagnosis, that is the co-existence of a mental disorder trouble and a drug addiction in the same subject. Double diagnosis is a fundamental point of view to know and face therapeutically the drug addict.

There are concrete possibilities to get over drug addiction, although they are difficult to attain because of the specificity and complexity of human psyche. These opportunities are based on an exact knowledge of diffusion and effects of substance, and on a direct knowledge of drug addict. Dialogue, communication and finding the right milieu situation for the meeting with users are key-factors that should proceed also after the first contact.

PLEASE NOTE . In this academic year, as part of the course of Drug Addiction Psychology and Epidemiology, some elements of Developmental Psychology will also be introduced. Following the learning objectives of the latter, some basic information will be given about psychological development in relation to mental health problems, with the possibility to analyze even psychical uneasiness from this point of view, taking into account that drug addiction is a clear and dominant expression of that.
The texts about these elements of Developmental Psychology will be communicated at beginning of the course and also during the lessons; they will published on the teacher's webpage as well. These arguments will not be part of the written test; it is based exclusively on one of the recommended readings. They will be part of the oral exam however. In other words, there are no questions about Developmental Psychology in the written test, but they can be present in the oral part of the exam.

 

 

Readings/Bibliography

1) S. Cambria, Tossicodipendenza e servizio sociale. Elementi di psichiatria delle tossicodipendenze, Angeli, Milano, 2004.

2) S. Cambria, Disagio psichico e servizio sociale. Elementi di psichiatria per assistenti sociali, Angeli, Milano, 2003.

3) The texts about the elements of Developmental Psychology will be communicated at beginning of the course and also during the lessons; they will published on the teacher's webpage as well.

Teaching methods

Lectures.

Assessment methods

The final exam is aimed to assess the achievement of the following learning objectives:
- Knowing the characteristics of drug addiction in relation to mental health problems
- Knowing the peculiarities of abuse substances
- Knowing the aspects of psychological uneasiness on which substances act as a factor of aggravation or primary cause
- Knowing the basic elements of drug addiction approaches and their treatment options
- Knowing the basic elements of Developmental Psychology
The exam consists on a written test based on part of the bibliography; there is also an oral part immediately after that. If students do not intend to do the written test, they can do just the oral part.

PLEASE NOTE. The written test is based only on the book by S. Cambria, Tossicodipendenza e servizio sociale. Elementi di psichiatria delle tossicodipendenze (Angeli, Milano, 2004) . The oral exam, on the other hand, is based on the whole bibliography.

Teaching tools

Overhead projector.

Office hours

See the website of Santino Cambria