What is an addiction specialist?

An addiction specialist is a health professional trained to support people facing an addiction, with or without a substance. Their role is to help understand a difficulty, take stock without judgement and offer suitable support. You can consult an addiction specialist for alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, screens, gambling, or as soon as a behaviour takes up too much space in daily life.

Addictology is not limited to « serious » use or emergency situations. To better understand the general framework, you can start by reading What is addictology? Definition and contributions.

What is an addiction specialist?

An addiction specialist supports people facing an addiction and helps them understand its impact on their daily life, without judgement or labels.

Concretely, an addiction specialist can step in when:

• a form of use or behaviour becomes hard to control;
• a habit takes up too much space;
• the person feels in difficulty without knowing who to turn to;
• a loved one is trying to better understand the situation.

The addiction specialist can support problems related to alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and cocaine, but also addictions without a substance such as gambling or screens. To better distinguish these situations, the page Addictions | Adikto 33 is a useful complement to this article.

The role of an addiction specialist often consists of:

• listening without judgement;
• assessing the place the behaviour occupies in the person’s life;
• helping clarify the request;
• offering a support framework;
• referring, if needed, to other professionals or resources.

What training does an addiction specialist have?

In France, addictology is not a single profession in the strict sense. The term addictologue most often refers to a professional who has developed specific expertise in supporting addictions.

In many cases, it is first a doctor who has completed their training with a specialisation or university degree in addictology. It is this framework in particular that allows them, depending on the situation, to assess a person medically, integrate support into a care pathway and, where it falls within their remit, to prescribe.

Around this framework, other professionals working in addictology can also support people within medical, paramedical or multidisciplinary structures. Their role is complementary, but does not necessarily cover the same prerogatives as a doctor.

The path of a professional practising in addictology can therefore combine:

• initial training in health;
• clinical or support experience;
• further training in addictology;
• sometimes a practice coordinated with general medicine, psychiatry, psychology or other fields of care.

To learn more about Fabrice Plantier’s practice, you can visit his presentation page: Fabrice Plantier, addiction specialist in Mérignac | Adikto 33.

How is this different from a psychiatrist or a psychologist?

This is a frequent question. The difference between an addiction specialist, a psychiatrist and a psychologist lies mainly in their training, their scope of practice and their speciality.

Addiction specialist

The addiction specialist focuses on addictive behaviours. They support people facing dependence or a loss of control, whether over a substance or a behaviour. They look at the situation as a whole: habits, life context, suffering, motivation, concrete difficulties.

Psychiatrist

The psychiatrist is a doctor specialised in mental health. They can step in when there is significant psychological suffering, associated disorders, or when a situation requires psychiatric assessment. A psychiatrist may also have expertise in addictology, but the two terms are not synonymous.

Psychologist

The psychologist is not a doctor. They are trained in listening, psychological assessment and various types of psychotherapeutic support. They can help a person understand how they function, their emotions, their blocks or their habits. In some situations, their work can complement that of an addiction specialist.

In practice, these professionals are not always in opposition. Depending on needs, they can work in a coordinated way. The right question is therefore not only « who is better? », but rather: what type of help do I need today?

When should you consult?

People often wrongly think you have to be « doing very badly » to consult. In reality, you can see an addiction specialist as soon as a difficulty starts to weigh on you.

Here are some situations where it can be useful:

• you feel that a form of use is taking up too much space;
• you have already tried to cut down or stop, without succeeding as you wished;
• those around you express concern;
• you feel overwhelmed, guilty or trapped in a habit;
• a substance or behaviour is affecting your sleep, your mood, your work or your relationships;
• you simply want to take stock, with no commitment.

This may involve, for example, alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, screens or other repetitive behaviours. For more targeted content, you can also read:

• Alcohol addiction | Adikto 33
• Quitting smoking with an addiction specialist | Adikto 33
• Stopping cannabis with an addiction specialist | Adikto 33
• Stopping cocaine with an addiction specialist | Adikto 33
• Screens: why do our brains get hooked? – Adikto 33

In case of life-threatening emergency, serious illness, immediate distress or an acute crisis requiring rapid intervention, call 15 (SAMU, in France) or the emergency services.

If the situation seems confusing, or if you are first looking for pointers and useful contacts, the page Addiction resources: useful numbers and help | Adikto 33 can also be a good starting point.

What happens at a first appointment?

The first appointment with an addiction specialist is above all a time for listening. It is not an interrogation, nor a moral judgement. The aim is to understand what you are going through, what brings you, and what you may expect from support.

During this first conversation, several subjects may be discussed:

• the reason for your visit;
• your relationship with the substance or behaviour;
• the context in which the difficulty took hold;
• the effects on your daily life;
• your expectations, hesitations or fears.

There is no single way to consult. Some people come because they want to stop. Others only want to understand, cut down, or take stock. Still others consult after being encouraged by a loved one.

The addiction specialist’s role is precisely to welcome this reality as it is, without forcing a conclusion. In some cases, follow-up may be offered. In others, a single appointment can already clarify the next steps.

Depending on the situation, a remote consultation may also be relevant. If this matches your context, particularly abroad, the page Online addiction specialist for expats: remote consultations may be useful.

FAQ

Conclusion

Understanding what an addiction specialist is already helps you better identify when to ask for help or simply take stock. Their role is to support without judgement, with a human, gradual approach adapted to each situation.

To explore the subject further, the page What is addictology? Definition and contributions remains the site’s main entry point. And if you prefer to start with concrete pointers, useful contacts or initial guidance, you can visit Addiction resources: useful numbers and help | Adikto 33.

Finally, to learn more about the practitioner, the presentation page of Fabrice Plantier, addiction specialist in Mérignac | Adikto 33 provides useful background.