Healthcare professionals’ understanding of addiction, treatment and recovery

This study sought to explore and understand healthcare professionals' meanings and experiences with regard to the addiction concept, treatment and recovery. Semi-structured interviews with 18 healthcare professionals in the area of addiction were conducted: nine nurses, six psychologists, a psychiatrist, a social worker and a psychosocial technician. Based on a qualitative methodology, a thematic analysis was conducted using the NVivo software. A global consensus regarding the understanding of addiction was observed: as a disease and on the role of intrinsic motivation for intervention success; and as a severe problem of mental health with a physical impact. Addiction as also conceptualized as a multi-determined process as well as entailing a multiplicity of effects implying suffering and destruction. Regarding treatment main assumptions toward a recovery trajectory: unique interventions, respect for individuals' needs and choices, contextualizing the problem and the person, family and network involvement, collaborative context, and multidisciplinary intervention. By portraying a multidisciplinary perspective and close to the lived experience in the field, this study can contribute to a better understanding of the beliefs and attributions regarding addiction and treatment and, consequently, inform the general population as well as the services providing care to clients.