Substance use disorders (SUD) are some of the most highly stigmatized health conditions worldwide, and stigma creates barriers to early intervention, screening, treatment, and effective recovery. Addressing addiction like a disease instead of a moral failing requires shifts in practice as well as understanding. To challenge stigma, we must revise outdated ways of thinking about addiction to better align with the medical discoveries about what addiction does to the brain, and how it is most effectively addressed.
In the first part of this two-part presentation, participants will learn about the basic principles of stigma, how stigma manifests and is categorized, how individuals with SUD are disproportionately stigmatized, and evidence-based stigma interventions.