Substance Abuse

At Sojourner House, we help families that have been impacted by addiction – or, as it’s clinically referred to, substance use disorder. While “addiction” is still a very common term in general conversations, “substance abuse disorder” has been the preferred medical terminology since 2013, as detailed in the American Psychiatric Association’s guidelines. The terminology and language we use to discuss substance abuse are extremely powerful. The right language can help to lay the groundwork for understanding substance abuse as a complex, chronic, treatable disease from which patients can recover, the same as any other medical condition. The wrong language, however, can stigmatize the disease, as well as the person suffering from it. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, … [Read more...] about Words Matter and Can Remove Stigma from Substance Abuse