Addiction counseling Sharp rise in counseling for behavioral addictions in Basel

The number of counseling cases for behavioral addictions rose sharply in Basel-Stadt in 2023. However, the problematic consumption of alcohol remained at the top of the list. This is according to the 2023 monitoring report on Basel-Stadt's addiction policy published on Tuesday.

The outpatient addiction counseling centers recorded 2459 counseling cases - 58 more than in the previous year. As in previous years, most cases involved problematic use of alcohol, followed by cannabis addiction.

A total of 11,714 telephone and face-to-face counseling sessions were conducted - around 1,000 fewer than in the previous year. 829 people were undergoing inpatient treatment for addiction problems at the University Psychiatric Clinics of Basel-Stadt (UPK). 1169 people were undergoing opioid agonist therapy or heroin-assisted treatment.

In 2023, consultations for behavioral addictions at the University Psychiatric Clinics Basel-Stadt increased by 41 percent to 353 cases. This is the highest figure since the systematic recording of data from 2016.

The most common reason for seeking support was gambling addiction (38%), followed by online addiction (31%), sex addiction (22%) and shopping addiction (9%). According to the press release, the proportion of men is 89%.