Abstract

While the transformation of diagnostic criteria, in the DSM and elsewhere, push «substance-related disorders» towards a more medicalized definition, centering the pathology on neurochemical dysfunctions, concrete therapeutic interventions by public health services, especially Ser.D. («Services for Addictions») still put much of their attention to the social and relational dimensions of addiction. In this contribution, based on ethnographic research in one such clinic in Tuscany, I wish to explore the spectrum of therapeutic practices articulated by public health professionals, emphasizing the construction of alliances outside the spaces of health institutions, and the influence of other representations of addiction and rehabilitation