The range of medical, psychological, and social services designed to help individuals reduce or stop substance use and manage substance use disorders. Treatment may include assessment, counselling and behavioural therapies, medication-assisted treatment, withdrawal management, and support for co-occurring mental or physical health conditions. Effective treatment is typically person-centred and evidence-informed, and may be provided in outpatient, community, or residential settings. Treatment aims to improve health and functioning, reduce substance-related harms, and support individuals in moving toward recovery and long-term wellbeing.
Treatment
A Possible New Treatment for Alcohol Disorders?
New research published in the journal Biological Psychiartry points to a novel way for the treatment of alcoholism. This would look to reduce motivation for drinking instead of altering the effects of alcohol, itself. Indeed, the study...
How Do We Tackle the Opioid Epidemic?
The over-prescription of opioids is a significant public health issue in the United States. For example, opioids are often prescribed for minor injuries unnecessarily. This, in turn, increases the risk of addiction. New research presented...
Effectiveness Bank Matrix Bite: What If the Therapist ... Is Also the Jailer?
A cell in the Alcohol Treatment Matrix. In an extreme form, the title poses the dilemma for alcohol treatment staff who may also be (seen as) working for authorities whose main role is to control or punish the ‘client’ or who may be...
Technology and Smoking Cessation: Are Personalised Emails Effective for Would-be Quitters?
A new American Cancer Society study published in the journal Tobacco Control suggests that regularly receiving personalised emails with tips for quitting amongst other information could be as effective at reducing the rate of smoking as...
More Treatments on Deck for Alcohol Use Disorder
Thirteen years have passed since the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last approved a new medication to help the nation’s millions of people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) stop or moderate their drinking. Only 3 such formulations...
5th Annual NFAR Technology Summit: Implementing Technology to Improve SUD Services
The goal of the 2017 NFAR (National Frontier & Rural) Technology Summit is for attendees to gain usable skills and knowledge related to how technology can expand and enhance treatment and recovery services to improve client outcomes. Specifically, attendees will be able to:
Estimating the Cost-Effectiveness of Brief Interventions for Heavy Drinking in Primary Health Care across Europe
Background Screening and brief interventions for alcohol are an effective public health measure to tackle alcohol-related harm, however relatively few countries across the European Union (EU) have implemented them widely. This may be due to...
Non-Medicinal Ritalin Use: Study Enhanced, But Taking a Chance
New research published in the Journal of Neural Transmission highlights a number of potential adverse side-effects from using the stimulant drug Ritalin without a prescription. Ritalin (Methylphenidate) is medically used to treat Attention...
Effectiveness Bank Matrix Bite: Treatment not for the Patient but for the Community
The final row of the Alcohol Treatment Matrix enters the domain of treatment organised not primarily for the patient, but to safeguard the wider community, encountering what seems a core contradiction depicted on the cover of WHO guidance...
Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids: A Free Online Training Course
A free online training course from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now available. The course addresses the CDC recommendations with respect to the prescription of opioids for chronic pain as well as their treatment...