Addiction, the characteristic behaviors that accompany repetitive substance use, is such a commonly-occurring malady that virtually all physicians are called upon to treat addicted individuals.
Addiction treatment may therefore be performed by physicians of all backgrounds.
Psychiatrists are commonly consulted for addiction treatment, and addiction treatment is part of every psychiatrist’s clinical training and experience.
There are those psychiatrists who elect to undergo additional training in addiction treatment in order to become board-certified addiction psychiatrists.
Dr. Lord is a board-certified addiction psychiatrist.
The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology offers certification in the subspecialty of addiction psychiatry to those psychiatrists who meet its criteria for experience and knowledge. Certification in addiction psychiatry is attained after 1) successful completion of an addiction psychiatry training program, which is subjected to scrutiny by a national oversight committee to ensure the consistency and quality of the training experience, and 2) successful passage of a subspecialty examination covering the entire field of addiction psychiatry.
The subspecialty certification in addiction psychiatry given by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology is officially recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. Only board-certified general psychiatrists who have completed the required post-graduate fellowship training program are eligible to take the subspecialty examination in addiction psychiatry.
