A New Beginning - The Society for Addiction Psychology

Dr. Gauri Shanker Kaloiya

Professor of Clinical Psychology, NDDTC, AIIMS, New Delhi

General Secretary (Society for Addiction Psychology- SAP)

The Society for Addiction Psychology was formed by like-minded people working for the pro- liferation of the field of addiction psychology. There was a need to offer a platform that can be used by the clinicians, academicians, researchers and policy makers to share their views and deliberate upon the controversies, challenges and recent advances in the field of addiction psychology. The Society for Addiction Psychology (SAP) is one of such steps in reducing the substance use across India by providing a platform to practitioners, researchers, academicians and policy makers to come together under its hood and contribute their knowledge, experiences and their expertise. This would translate into tackling psychoactive substance use as a public health problem with equal emphasis on prevention, early intervention as well as treatment.

Society for Addiction Psychology

The idea of forming this Society incubated when I joined NDDTC, AIIMS in 2012 as a Faculty but was in a very primal state, being constantly shaped under the intrapsychic and environmental forces with time. AIIMS provided me a ground to freely explore the terrain of Addiction Psychology in depth. Even in scientific conferences, addiction is one of the least discussed topics in such scientific programs. Also, there remains a paucity of mental health professionals who willingly enter the field of addiction treatment as they are not adequately sensitized about its relevance and the field is perceived as less lucrative due to its challenging nature. So, it was decided to bring something into the bright light that can fill the gap and provide a momentum to the field of addiction and help the young generation to get inclined and develop some interest in the treatment modalities for addiction related problems.

However, it was clear that that this can only be done by bringing the young researchers/scien- tists and experts from across the country under the same hood of Society for Addiction Psychology. Forming a society of like-minded people with a background and interest at the same time in the treatment of addiction-related problems can provide a spark to the new generation to develop an interest in the field and contribute in forming universally accepted frameworks based on ethical practices in the field of addiction psychology especially in developing countries like India with a profound diversity. Finally, foundations of Society for Addiction Psychology were laid down in 2017. Several Faculty members (from NDDTC, IHBAS, PGIMER, NIMHANS and other Universities) started sharing their viewpoints and initiated discussions on it. This gave an initial push to initiate things in a step-wise fashion.

Scientific societies play a significant and central role in the advancement and consolidation of knowledge in various academic and professional fields. They are needed for providing set of standard protocols and procedures, ethical principles, code of conduct, dissemination of knowledge in terms of publications in peer reviewed journals, facilitation of professional development by offering continuing education, certifications and training programs by helping the professionals to remain updated with latest scientific knowledge and advancements, building a community and support, bringing the like- minded people together, increasing awareness and public understanding about debunking myths or taboos, promoting young scientists/researchers by providing reinforcements in terms of scholarships and promoting their personal growth by providing them a platform to share their experiences and last but not least, conducting education programs (American Psychological Association, n.d.).

The journey of establishing SAP was not that easy and came with its own struggles and challenges. The formal inauguration of Society for Addiction Psychology (SAP) in the year of 2022 was a cornerstone with substantial efforts and multiple setbacks and took about 5 years (from 2017 to 2022).

The struggle within to survive: Early efforts (2017-2022)

We started designing the framework of SAP but despite of our initial noble and altruistic intentions, we met with static friction which started consuming our enough energy and resources to give it a further push. The primary hurdle was getting the signature from esteemed EC members who belong to different zones like Bangalore, Chandigarh, Manipur, Uttarakhand etc. However, we did not stop encouraging each other during hard times and found solutions to such problems through our frequent discussions even on small scale problems. Here, it would be worth mentioning some noteworthy names who never differentiated between day and night when it came to playing part in the time of need Dr. L.N Suman (Prof. of Clinical Psychology, NIMHANS), Dr. Prabhu Dayal (Prof. of Psychiatry, NDDTC, AIIMS), Dr. Naveen Grover (Asst. Prof. of Clinical Psychology, IHBAS), Dr. YPS Balhara (Prof. of Psychiatry, NDDTC, AIIMS), Ms. Lini Philip (Clinical Psychologist, NDDTC), Dr. Amrita Pain (Assistant Professor, Human Behaviour Department, IHBAS) and many more. Kudos! We made this dream turned to a stone!

Bureaucratic and Financial Hurdles

Extensive paperwork, permissions and regulatory requirements along with financial expenditure were major bureaucratic hurdles in front of us while navigating through the path to successfully establishing the ground for SAP. However, while things were at the final stage, COVID-19 increased our problems and again whole process reached to ground zero again. However, I am very thankful to all the EC members for their patience and my students who provided me enough courage and motivation to initiate the process again. The pandemic was more profoundly recognized by a steep rise in mental health issues, including addiction (Chiappini et al., 2020).

So, rather than a setback, COVID-19 proved to be a more robust and strong galvanizing force for us to chalk out the plan again from scratch and remove subsequent hurdles within the path, one by one. Online platforms and virtual meetings provided necessary momentum and became instrumental in aligning things in the right direction with unconditional support from the founding members of SAP.

Foundation (22nd July 2022)

Finally, the Society for Addiction Psychology was registered under the Society Registration Act, on 22nd July 2022. The inaugural event was held at National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) which became a cornerstone in itself and was marked as a “Golden day” in the pages of SAP. About 200 participants attended the conference held on 10th & 11th March 2023. NDDTC is a premier institution under AIIMS, Delhi. It is dedicated to addressing the issues related to addiction and related problems. It is located at Kamla Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad, UP. The centre provides services including treatment for individuals suffering from addiction by providing a range of services like investigations, assessment and intervention including medications. It also conducts various outreach and community-based programs to raise awareness about problems linked with addiction and drug use. In addition to treatment, NDDTC is a renowned body of research and training in the field of addiction.

The First Annual National Conference of Society for Addiction Psychology (1st ANCSAP)

Informally, the first conference was held on 6th & 7th September 2017. It was the time when lots of deliberations were held with delegates and ideas of forming SAP took explicit form. However, after the formation of the society, the first conference was formally held on the 10th and the 11th of March 2023. It brought together leading experts in addiction psychology, policymakers, healthcare providers and students from various fields. The conference was attended by more than 200 delegates from across the country.

Community Awareness Programs

SAP celebrated its first foundation day on 22nd July 2023 at various places of the country - Delhi (ITBP), UP (BHU & DMHP) and Punjab by arranging symposiums, public lectures and debates. It is going to be celebrated at various places this year (2024) as well.

The Second National Conference of Society for Addiction Psychology (2nd ANCSAP)

The second National Annual Conference was originally scheduled at a Delhi Government institute on 3rd November 2023. However, due to some unavoidable circumstances, the conference was shifted back to NDDTC and held on 9th of December 2023 which was attended by around 150 delegates.

The Third Annual National Conference of Society for Addiction Psychology & Journal Launch The third National Annual Conference is scheduled for the 21st and 22nd of June 2024 at NIEPVD, Dehradun. This event is special in its own terms as it is going to mark the launch of the first edition of the “Journal of Society for Addiction Psychology,” a peer-reviewed publication with the aim of advancing research and knowledge dissemination in the field of addiction psychology. The Journal’s launch is a testament to the Society’s commitment to academic rigor and its role in fostering a research-oriented approach to addiction treatment. The Journal is going to build a fundamental platform for young researchers and experienced practitioners to share their findings, discuss new and innovative methods, and contribute to treatment of addiction.

Vision of the Society

The vision of SAP closely aligns with the objectives of the ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan’ (NMBA), a Government of India initiative aimed at mitigating drug abuse in India. The campaign was launched on 15th August 2020, in 272 Districts identified as most vulnerable in terms of usage of drugs in the country, focuses on community outreach, preventive education and rehabilitation (Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, 2020). The aims of the Society for Addiction Psychology are inline with and complement the aims of the ‘Nasha mukt Bharat Abhiyaan’ by providing psychological expertise, facilitating research and advocating for evidence-based policies and practices.

Current Challenges and the Way Forward

While SAP has just started significant contribution by creating awareness among public about

addiction by holding conferences and community orientation programs, it continues to face challenges. Furthermore, overcoming the deep-seated stigma associated with addiction requires consistent efforts in terms of preliminary education. SAP is also working to build stronger alliance with other national bodies to exchange knowledge and best practices used in the treatment of addiction in India.

Conclusion

Another page is going to turn yellow marked by the release of first edition of Journal of Society

for Addiction Psychology. I appreciate the consistent efforts put by the Executive Committee in conducting successful conferences and the launch of its academic journal being reflected in terms of research, education, and community engagement.

Best wishes to participants and heartiest congratulations to EC members who dedicated their valuable time to SAP to grow and evolve and reach up to this stage. There is still a long way to go and if we all are together in this journey then the path will become easy and enriched with scientific knowledge.

Apart from this, I would like to add some special words to budding scientists, “This is just the beginning of the venture! The whole deep blue ocean ahead is waiting eagerly for you to chart it down in pages. You’ll always find SAP standing right beside you to provide you the unwavering support and contribution in this field.”

References

Chiappini, S., Guirguis, A., John, A., Corkery, J.M., & Schifano, F. (2020). COVID-19: The Hidden Impact on Mental Health and Drug Addiction. Frontiers in psychiatry, 11, 767. https://doi.org/ 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00767

Heather N. (2017). Q: Is Addiction a Brain Disease or a Moral Failing? A: Neither. Neuroethics, 10(1), 115–124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12152-016-9289-0

Lewis, Marc. 2017. Addiction and the brain: development, not disease. Neuroethics 10 : 7–18. doi:10.1007/s12152-016-9293-4

Journal of Society for Addiction Psychology | Volume 1 | Issue 1 | March 2024 page 6 to 9