Introduction

The American Academy for Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) is a professional organisation and an accredited Continuing Medical Education (CME) provider, based in East Providence, Rhode Island, USA.

Its members are specialists in addiction psychiatry and other health care professionals who treat patients with addictions. AAAP provides medical education programmes in the field of addiction psychiatry.

Refer to Addiction Psychiatry, Addiction Psychology, Addiction Medicine, American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, Addictive Personality, Addiction Vulnerability, Addiction-Related Structural Neuroplasticity, and American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Brief History

The AAAP was founded in 1985. It was originally called the American Academy of Psychiatrists in Alcoholism and Addiction; the name was changed in 1996. In 2015 it is operated by a 21-member medical board, including one person from outside the United States and two students.

Activities

As well as its educational programmes, the organization provides information about treatment and support organisations and rehabilitation programmes to families and individuals dealing with addiction. It also works with government organisations and sponsors addiction treatment programmes. The organisation’s official peer-reviewed journal, The American Journal on Addictions, is published bimonthly by John Wiley & Sons.

The AAAP conducts and reports studies related to substance abuse. The organisation also advocates for funding for addiction treatment and research programmes.

AAAP holds an annual meeting at which presentations and poster sessions are held.

Special Projects

AAAP administers two three-year grants funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. One funds a training and mentoring project which educates health professionals about the use and misuse of opioids for treatment of chronic pain and about opioid dependence treatment. It is operated by a group of stakeholder organisations, including AAAP.

The second grant funds the Providers’ Clinical Support System for Medically Assisted Treatment (PCSS-MAT), a project led by AAAP in conjunction with other healthcare professional organisations. It provides training and resources to help prescribers and health care providers keep up to date with information about medication-assisted treatment of opioid addiction.

AAAP also directs a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) which uses social media platforms to inform and assist physicians who are completing their Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Performance in Practice .