THE BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY: A COMPREHENSIVE DESCRIPTIVE PERSPECTIVE on ADDICTION

This paper describes the Biopsychosocial Theory and contrasts it to the traditional theories of addiction. Included in the discussion is how the new theory incorporates the strengths of the older traditional theories while remaining a distinct entity with a unique set of hypotheses, and the addition of the spiritual dimension, which, from the Alcohol and Drug Services’ (ADS) perspective, has generally been underemphasised in most discussions of the biopsychosocial theory. ADS also views this theory as an articulation of the “holistic health” or “public health” concept of total health. Therefore, the term “biopsychosocial” will be used for convenience throughout this paper to represent the “biopsychosocialspiritual” or “holistic health” concept.