The Stigma of Substance Use Disorders

Leading researchers and people with lived experience explain the stigma of substance use disorders, and develop solutions for overcoming it.

Georg Schomerus (Edited by), Patrick William Corrigan (Edited by)

9781108838016, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 June 2022

300 pages
23.4 x 15.7 x 1.9 cm, 0.6 kg

'This may be the one of the most salient descriptions of stigma that I have ever read. From the individual depths of self-stigma to the crushing weight and oppression of structural stigma, the authors wield a clear grasp of corrosive nature of societal response to the challenge presented by substance use disorder. Protest, contact, and education are strategies that make good, common sense, and are tenets that any recovery insurgent could live by.' Philip Rutherford, Chief Operating Officer at Faces & Voices of Recovery, USA

Stigma and discrimination of people with substance use disorders (SUD) contribute massively to the harm done by their condition: stigma has negative effects on service engagement, life opportunities, and personal shame, both for those who struggle with substance abuse and their families. Overcoming the stigma of substance use disorders is essential to aid recovery in those with SUD. This book provides an in-depth understanding of the stigma of SUD, and proposes ways to overcome it in different settings from the criminal justice system to healthcare. Combining a multitude of viewpoints within a consistent theoretical framework, this book both summarizes the latest evidence and gives hands-on advice and future directions on how to combat the stigma of SUD. People with lived experience of SUD, advocates, family members, policy makers, providers and researchers in the field of addiction stigma will greatly benefit from reading this book.

1. Understanding the stigma of substance use disorders
2. My experience with the stigma of substance use
3. Substance use stigma and policy
4. Experiences of stigma and criminal in/justice among people who use substances
5. Substance use disorders, stigma, and ethics
6. Intersectional stigma in substance use disorders
7. International perspectives on stigma towards people with substance use disorders 8. Using community-based participatory research to address the stigma of substance use disorder
9. Three competing agendas of addressing stigma of substance use disorder
10. The benefits of disclosure
11. The role of peers in SUD stigma change: a personal perspective
12. The role of media reporting for substance use stigma
13. Reducing substance use stigma in health care
14. Final considerations and future directions for erasing the stigma of substance use disorders.

Subject Areas: Psychiatry [MMH], Health psychology [MBNH9], Social, group or collective psychology [JMH], Drug & substance abuse: social aspects [JFFH1]