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Is the Concept of Compulsion Useful in the Explanation Or Description of Addictive Behavior and Experience?

About the Course:

The concept of compulsion, in which addictive behavior is not a voluntary behavior, is central to the neurobiological theories that have become popular as disease theory of addiction are ubiquitous in modern definitions. The aims of this article are: (I) to describe various meanings of compulsion in the literature; (ii) to compare the part thought to be played by compulsion in addiction with its suggested role in obsessive-compulsive disorder; (iii) to critically examine the place of compulsion in influential neurobiological accounts of addiction; (iv) to summarize the empirical evidence bearing on the usefulness of the compulsion concept, evidence that seems at first sight incompatible with the notion of compulsion. This is followed by a discussion of which possible meanings of compulsion can survive an empirical test and what role they might play in understanding addiction, paying particular attention to a distinction between strong and weak senses of compulsion.

This course is based on the article,Is the concept of compulsion useful in the explanation or description of addictive behavior and experience? created by Nick Heather, PhD. in 2017.

Publication Date:

May 18, 2017

Course Material Author

Nick Heather, PhD.
Dr. Heather is a clinical psychologist and Emeritus Professor of Alcohol & Other Drug Studies at Northumbria University. His research focused on brief intervention techniques to reduce alcohol misuse, and he has challenged the disease theory of alcoholism. He has over five hundred research publications and books.

Nick Heather, PhD. authored the material only, and was not involved in creating this CE course. They are identified here for your own evaluation of the relevancy of the material this course is based on.

Course Creator

L.A. Rankin
L.A. Rankin is a social worker with experience in many different settings with a variety of clients. She has worked with dementia and Alzheimers patients, dual diagnosis MH/MR, in a battered women’s shelter, and a rape crisis center. She also has 11 years of experience as a child protective social worker, where she earned certificates in domestic abuse/family violence and substance abuse.

Recommended For:

Counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychologists and social workers. This course is appropriate for all levels of knowledge.

Course Objectives:

After taking this course, you should be able to:

  1. Acknowledge the various definitions researchers use for compulsion.
  2. Identify the numerous studies and theories of addiction.
  3. Realize compulsion is not universal, nor is it of the same type found in other disorders like OCD.

Disclosures

Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships

Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships

CE Learning Systems, LLC is an independent provider of continuing medical education. CE Learning Systems, LLC has no proprietary or financial interest in medical or healthcare products over which the FDA (USA) or EMA (EU) has regulatory authority.

In accordance with our disclosure policies, CE Learning Systems, LLC is committed to ensuring balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor for all accredited continuing education. These policies include assigning relevance to, and mitigating, all perceived or real conflicts of interest between any individual with control over the content and any ineligible company (commercial interest).

Any individual with control over accredited content, including planner, faculty, and reviewer, is required to globally disclose:

  1. Individual relationship(s) or lack thereof, and its nature, with any/all ineligible company, and
  2. any investigational, off-label, or non-FDA approved content or discussion

CE Learning Systems, LLC has reviewed these disclosures, assigned relevance based on the relationship and scope of content, and identified those with the potential to compromise the goals and educational integrity of the education. Relevant relationships, or lack thereof, are shared with the learner.

Education has been independently peer-reviewed to validate content, mitigate identified conflicts of interest, and ensure:

  1. All recommendations involving clinical medicine is based on evidence that is accepted within the medical profession as adequate justification for their indications and contraindications in the care of patients.
  2. All scientific research referred to, reported, or used in accredited continuing education in support or justification of a patient care recommendation conforms to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis.
  3. Content is appropriate, fair and balanced, unbiased, referenced, and non-promotional.
Planners

The planners have reported the following: There are no relevant disclosures.

Course Material Author

The authors have disclosed any disclosures within the material.

Course Creator: L.A. Rankin
There are no relevant disclosures.
Commercial support

There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.

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FAQs

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Course Number 102456
4 CE credit hours
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  • Reading-Based Online
Exam Fee $23.88
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