Synopsis
Despite the significant need for coordinated approaches to the treatment of substance misuse worldwide, there are still major gaps in both the provision of services and in the development of a theoretically unified approach to care. We suggest that a phenomenological approach to care can provide comprehensive, theoretically grounded guidelines that coordinate and help choose between a range of interventions while respecting the values of the patient and other stakeholders. The aim of this paper is to present a framework for a person-centered approach to substance misuse care, based on general principles of phenomenology. In particular, we emphasize a dialectic conception of phenomenological care, one that considers the various tensions and conflicts of human life, and the ways these are managed by individuals.