Psychological Treatment Of Medical Patients Struggling With Harmful Substance Use

This book shows mental health providers how to assess and treat substance use in medical settings. Clinical health psychologists often encounter patients needing interventions for substance use, yet rarely do practitioners receive specialized training in this area. Psychological Treatment of Medical Patients With Harmful Substance Use is designed for mental health providers in medical settings who need the knowledge and skills to assess and treat conditions relevant to substance use. This book is especially useful for mental health providers who treat adult medical outpatients for whom substance use is not their primary presenting problem. The authors clarify the distinction between nonharmful and harmful substance use, describe the signs and symptoms of substance use disorders, epidemiology, current models denoting biological and socio-cultural causes, and contributing factors (with an emphasis on cardiac, cancer, women's health, and primary care settings). They offer best-practice assessment strategies, and psychological, self-help and pharmacological treatments. Chapters also describe assessment and intervention for conditions that are often comorbid with substance use, including depression, anxiety, and sleep dysregulation, as well as treatment for family members who are dealing with a loved one's harmful substance use, relapse prevention and continuing care.

"Clinical health psychologists often encounter patients needing interventions for substance use, yet rarely do practitioners receive specialized training in this area. Psychological Treatment of Medical Patients With Harmful Substance Use is designed for mental health providers in medical settings who need the knowledge and skills to assess and treat conditions relevant to substance use. This book is especially useful for mental health providers who treat adult medical outpatients for whom substance use is not their primary presenting problem. The authors clarify the distinction between nonharmful and harmful substance use, describe the signs and symptoms of substance use disorders, epidemiology, current models denoting biological and socio-cultural causes, and contributing factors (with an emphasis on cardiac, cancer, women's health, and primary care settings). They offer best-practice assessment strategies, and psychological, self-help and pharmacological treatments. Chapters also describe assessment and intervention for conditions that are often comorbid with substance use, including depression, anxiety, and sleep dysregulation, as well as treatment for family members who are dealing with a loved one's harmful substance use, relapse prevention and continuing care"--

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.

This book is a guide for psychologists working with substance users in different healthcare settings, from private clinical practice to larger health institutions and community services. It presents a comprehensive overview of the different aspects involved with substance use disorders from a psychological perspective, from prevention to recovery. The volume offers an integrative view about neurobiological, behavioral and psychosocial aspects related to becoming a substance user; shows how psychological assessment tools can be used to diagnose substance use disorders; describes how different kinds of psychotherapy can be applied in the treatment of substance use disorders; and presents a range of evidence-based clinical and social interventions designed for both prevention and treatment of substance use disorders. Apart from covering the whole range of services related to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of substance use disorders, the volume also shows how these issues can be approached from different theoretical perspectives within psychology, such as: Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology Neuropsychology Existential Psychology Phenomenology Psychoanalysis Analytical Psychology Community and Social Psychology Psychology of Substance Abuse: Psychotherapy, Clinical Management and Social Intervention will be a useful resource for psychologists and other health professionals working with substance users, as well as to undergraduate and graduate students looking for a comprehensive introduction to the psychology of substance abuse.

All across the United States, individuals, families, communities, and health care systems are struggling to cope with substance use, misuse, and substance use disorders. Substance misuse and substance use disorders have devastating effects, disrupt the future plans of too many young people, and all too often, end lives prematurely and tragically. Substance misuse is a major public health challenge and a priority for our nation to address. The effects of substance use are cumulative and costly for our society, placing burdens on workplaces, the health care system, families, states, and communities. The Report discusses opportunities to bring substance use disorder treatment and mainstream health care systems into alignment so that they can address a person's overall health, rather than a substance misuse or a physical health condition alone or in isolation. It also provides suggestions and recommendations for action that everyone-individuals, families, community leaders, law enforcement, health care professionals, policymakers, and researchers-can take to prevent substance misuse and reduce its consequences.

The prevalence of substance abuse in the severely mentally ill is higher than that in the general population, making this a serious issue for clinicians. Integrated treatment, although the most widely adopted approach, is subject to tremendous variation in its operationalisation, especially throughout different parts of the world. Substance Misuse in Psychosis presents the latest international developments and practical treatment interventions that can be used with co-morbid individuals and their families. Different social and cultural contexts are described and contrasted, along with treatment approaches that have been tailored to address the needs of the severely mentally ill. A final section considers sub-groups, e.g. the young, the homeless, outlining the special issues that need to be considered when providing services for these groups.

Motivation is key to substance use behavior change. Counselors can support clients' movement toward positive changes in their substance use by identifying and enhancing motivation that already exists. Motivational approaches are based on the principles of person-centered counseling. Counselors' use of empathy, not authority and power, is key to enhancing clients' motivation to change. Clients are experts in their own recovery from SUDs. Counselors should engage them in collaborative partnerships. Ambivalence about change is normal. Resistance to change is an expression of ambivalence about change, not a client trait or characteristic. Confrontational approaches increase client resistance and discord in the counseling relationship. Motivational approaches explore ambivalence in a nonjudgmental and compassionate way.