Should Persons in Recovery Stop Identifying themselves as Alcoholics or Addicts?

The medical director of a treatment center, a Doctor Neil Capretto, suggested in a recent article that using the terms "alcoholic" or "addict" to refer to individuals with an alcohol or drug addiction are similar to words such as "crippled" or "retarded" historically used to refer to those with a physical or developmental disability that have been abandoned because they are "...pejorative, harmful, and inflict pain." He opined that words such as "alcoholic, addict, drunk, or junky" "stigmatize" individuals with alcohol or drug addiction and may pose a barrier to their entering treatment.There was only one research study that was cited by Dr. Capretto to support his position that references to individuals with an alcohol or drug problemas alcoholics or addicts carry a harmful stigma. The study showed that treatment professionals tended to think individuals who violated a court order to abstain from use of alcohol or drugs who were referred to as being "substance abusers" should be punished but that those referred to as having a "substance use disorder" should be given treatment for their disorder. I do not find this study persuasive as it merely shows that treatment professionals are familiar with the term substance use disorder as indicating a problem in need of treatment.

In my view it IS vital that individuals in treatment or in recovery in the 12 Step Programs become quickly attuned to the fact that drug or alcohol addiction is a disease and not a moral or criminal problem. All treatment centers in the United States that I know subscribe to the approach of Alcoholics Anonymous that has been a integral part of 12 Step recovery since the nineteen thirties and forties, namely, that alcoholism and addiction are progressive, fatal diseases. The negative, criminal, immoral behaviors during active addiction are explained by the presence in the individual of the disease of addiction.

I find it almost ludicrous to suggest that the alcoholic or addict identify him/herself in 12 Step meetings this way: "My name is Moe and I have a substance use disorder." That is a technical term used by mental health professionals. In recovery, identification as an alcoholic or addict most often is in this form: "My name is [first name], and I'm an alcoholic or addict." Thus, usually, one is not saying that one's identity is "dictated" (suggested by Dr. Capretto) by the addiction. In my experience in treatment and in 12 Step recovery, identifying as an addict or alcoholic in recovery becomes a positive, even, proud declaration as the individual becomes comfortable with being in recovery from the disease of addiction.

As always, comments are invited. Jan Edward Williams, www.alcoholdrugsos.com, 08/01/2014.