Journal of Psychiatry

Features of Gambling disorder and Internet gaming disorder in the spectrum of Addictive disorders

16^th World Congress on Psychiatry and Psychological Syndromes

April 24-25, 2017 Las Vegas, USA

Sophia Achab

University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Psychiatry

Abstract:

Emergent behavioral addictions (BAs) such as Gambling disorder (GD) and Internet use disorders (e.g., Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) have become common treatment-seeking motives and a flourishing field for research. Their similarities to substance use disorders (SUDs) have raised debate in the scientific community and among clinicians and resulted in the enlargement of the addictive spectrum to include addictions that do not require the intake of a psychoactive substance. This inclusion has sparked debate on addiction determinism and whether neurobiological processes could be involved in repetitive exposure to a substance, as well as in cognitions and behaviors. A core clinical addiction syndrome can be extracted by comparing recent diagnostic criteria for SUDs in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) with those for the two considered BAs: GD and IGD. Clinical, psychological and neurobiological differences and similarities between BAs and SUDs are reviewed and discussed in the present work. Critical links are made between these scientific findings and recent DSM-5 criteria.

Biography :

Sophia Achab is a Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist In-Charge of specialized program in Behavioral Addictions at University Hospitals of Geneva, where she has the position of Medical Deputy to the Addiction Division Head in Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry. She combines clinical activity with research and training in the field of behavioral addictions (Internet use disorders, pathological gambling, sexual addiction and compulsive buying). She has a PhD in Neurosciences of Human Behavior and she is a Senior Lecturer (Privatdocent) at University of Geneva, In-Charge of courses, mainly on Psychiatry and Primary Care with a specific focus on addictive disorders including behavioral addictions. She is also a Coordinator for Addictive Disorders at WHO Collaborating Center for training and research in Mental Health at Geneva University and part of several work groups at a Swiss and Global level in the field of behavioral addictions.

Email: sophia.achab@hcuge.ch