The group of people who make use of addiction care is very diverse. The treatment must therefore fit in well with that diversity. In this thesis, we investigated the patients’ diversity in addiction and associated problems and how the provided care takes this into account. We did this investigation in a large regional addiction care facility. Patients addicted to different substances show a different symptom profile. They can also be classified over stages of addiction severity, the presence of co-morbidities and the impact of the addiction on social functioning. The largest group of patients in care makes only very limited use of care and about 10% receive intensive long-term care. The latter group is characterized by complex and serious addiction problems with many comorbidities.
Ruud Rutten (1957) has been working in addiction care for almost 40 years in various roles, including chairman of the Board of Directors of Tactus Addiction Care for 23 years. He combined that role with many national administrative roles, including at the addiction probation service (SVG), the national umbrella organization for mental health (de Nederlandse ggz) and for addiction care (Verslavingskunde Nederland). He also contributed to various publications as an author and editor and conducted scientific research, resulting in this thesis at the Donders Institute of Radboud University. He started his career as a nurse at Radboud university medical center and studied nursing, child development and psychology.