Workshop summary

Addictionology, also known as addiction medicine, is a medical field focused on the prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery of individuals with addiction and related health conditions.

Addiction is a medical condition with a long history. Over the years, science has included under the addiction term not only substance abuse but also specific behaviors. Today the disorder is called addictive behavior.

These behaviors induce changes in brain structure and function, provide short-term relief of distress, create long-term physical and psychological problems, and are difficult to stop. A common finding in addiction studies is that the brain stress systems are implicated and responsible for the negative emotional state that reinforces the desire to continue.

Neuroscientists explain that the brain adapts quickly to the addictive behavior, makes changes in the neural circuitry and the reward system becomes extra compelling. But the brain is capable of change – recovery relies on neuroplasticity.

The aim of all addiction treatments is to return a person to health, restore their ability to control their own behavior and stop the unpleasant feelings and physical symptoms. In our everyday practice, we may see patients in all types of addictions – mild or severe- and with different types of symptoms – physical, psychosomatic, withdrawal.

Recent studies of acupuncture on addictions have highlighted that acupuncture can be used as a therapeutic intervention for treating addiction by direct activation of brain pathways.

At this workshop, we will analyze all the theoretical background of the disorder and present all the available types of acupuncture treatments.