As the founder and medical director of the Center for Network Therapy, New Jersey’s first state-licensed outpatient detoxification care and treatment facility, Dr. Indra Cidambi has made it her life’s work to help more people suffering from addiction by restructuring the way treatment is carried out and by increasing accessibility to it. She is well-recognized as a pioneer and leading expert in the field of addiction medicine, and she joins the podcast today to discuss the benefits of outpatient treatment for addiction as opposed to the traditional method of inpatient treatment.

She explains how the understanding of addiction has changed over the years; while once seen as a character flaw or purely behavioral problem, research has shown that addiction is a chronic disease, just like diabetes or arthritis. The traditional inpatient method of treatment is based on the behavioral understanding of addiction, operating off of the idea that individuals suffering from addiction should be isolated from their families and friends until they can learn to change their behavior. But now that we have a better understanding of addiction, why does the inpatient model still dominate? Dr. Cidambi provides an answer to this question and explains the many ways in which her program will revolutionize addiction treatment and lead to healthier and happier patients.

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