Canadian Academy for Addiction Psychiatry (CAAP)

Canadians with high risk substance use or substance use disorders and co-occurring psychiatric disorders often experience persistent and recurrent difficulties that interfere with multiple aspects of their lives. The presence of both a substance use disorder and a psychiatric diagnosis is termed Concurrent Disorders. The majority of patients admitted to inpatient psychiatry acute settings and in the ER have complex concurrent disorders.

Despite frequently presenting for care, a lack of integration and continuity, insufficient availability of appropriate programs, and a lack of adequate training results in these patients often not receiving the care they need, perpetuating their problems at great cost to themselves and Canadian society.

Vision:
• Promote comprehensive and high quality evidence-based practices for substance use disorders with co-occurring psychiatric disorders.
• Translate and disseminate evidence-based research to improve clinical practice and patient outcomes for those suffering from substance use disorders with co-occurring psychiatric disorders.
• Enhance training and foster careers in addiction psychiatry.
• Promote informed Canadian public policy for substance use disorders and co-occurring psychiatric disorders based on comprehensive and high quality evidence-based practices.
• Promote prevention, harm reduction, integration of addiction treatment, and recovery across the lifespan for people with high risk substance use, substance use disorders and co-occurring psychiatric disorders.
• Promote research on the etiology, prevention, identification and treatment of substance use and co-occurring psychiatric disorders.