An addiction has been defined many ways. For the sake of this paper and discussion addiction is defined in three ways as "1.) It is something done regularly, repeatedly, habitually; 2.) There is a compulsive quality to it that seems at least partly beyond the individual's conscious control; and 3.) It does not necessarily involve a drug, although that is the most common association" (Miller, Forcehimes & Zweben, 2010 p. 10). .
An addict as just described lacks the ability to have leisure use. According to Chandler (1987) "the ability to experience fun and pleasure and feel capable and in control are often lacking in an individual who uses drugs and alcohol". There are many people, organizations in our country today who try arguing about the proper way to treat a person whom is addicted to drugs. Many groups believe that addiction is a disease, others a genetic disorder and other beliefs that are based on a model of human behavior having no physiological aspect. Drug use is not a new epidemic that is plaguing our society today. "60% of Americans sample an illicit drug at least once in their lifetime, and after excluding marijuana the lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use is about 32%" (Robinson, T. E., & Berridge, K. C. (2003). .
There are many great institutions, programs and people that try and help addicts. With all the funds that are invested into treatment for addicts there is not a 100% success rate for any one particular program or method of treatment. The main aspects that are addressed in programs that are helping aid in recovery today are based on the emotions, motivations and choices of addiction. The intern was involved in a recovery center that had programs or group sessions that aided in the ability to learn to interact with all the different types of theories and models for recovery. .
One of the oldest models for recovery that the intern encountered is Narcotics Anonymous.