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Social Workers

Brief Interventions and Brief Therapies for Substance Abuse

10.00 - CE credit hours training

$62.50 - Cost of course

This page contains important information about the course, including training details, a comprehensive course description, learning objectives, and source references. We encourage you to review each section to gain a clear understanding of the course content, educational goals, and supporting materials before beginning your training and taking the POST TEST below.

Target audience and instructional level of this course: foundational
There is no known conflict of interest or commercial support related to this CE program.

Brief Interventions and Brief Therapies for Substance Abuse

Follow the link below, read the material and then take the 40 question post test

Read the Course Material:
Brief Interventions and Brief Therapies for Substance Abuse

40 Questions

1. Brief interventions and brief therapies are short, problem-specific approaches can be valuable in the treatment of substance abuse problems. They provide the opportunity for clinicians to increase positive outcomes by using these modalities independently as stand-alone interventions or treatments and as additions to other forms of substance abuse and mental health treatment.
2. Brief therapies are generally aimed at motivating a client to perform a particular action (e.g., to enter treatment, change a behavior, think differently about a situation), whereas brief interventions are used to address larger concerns (such as altering personality, maintaining abstinence, or addressing long-standing problems that exacerbate substance abuse)
3. Although the theoretical bases for brief therapy and brief intervention may be different, this distinction is less obvious in practice. These two approaches to substance abuse problems and behavior change reflect a continuum rather than a clear dichotomy.
4. Brief interventions and brief therapies are also well suited for clients who may not be willing or able to expend the significant personal and financial resources necessary to complete more intensive, longer term treatments. Although much research supports the theory that longer time in treatment is associated with better outcomes, research also suggests that for some clients, there is no loss in effectiveness when length and intensity of treatment are reduced.
5. Harmful drinking refers to a level of alcohol consumption or pattern of drinking that, should it persist, is likely to result in harm to the drinker. Hazardous drinking is defined as alcohol use that has already resulted in adverse mental or physical effects. Interdependent use refers to drinking that has resulted in physical, psychological, or social consequences and has been the focus of major diagnostic tools
6. Brief interventions in traditional settings usually involve a more in-depth assessment of substance use patterns and related problems than interventions administered in nontraditional settings and tend to examine other aspects of participants' attitudes, such as readiness for or resistance to change. They can be useful for addressing specific behavior change issues in treatment settings. Because they are timely, focused, and client centered, brief interventions can quickly enhance the overall working relationship with clients. However, brief interventions should not be a care substitute for clients who have a high level of abuse.
7. The largest impediment to broader application of briefer forms of treatment is the already overwhelming responsibilities of frontline treatment staff members who are overworked and unfamiliar with the latest treatment research findings. Not only are these clinicians reluctant to make clinical changes, but their programs may also lack the financial and personnel resources to adopt innovative approaches. Treatment programs limit themselves by such inability and unwillingness to learn new techniques.
8. Brief interventions are research-proven procedures for working with individuals with high abuse behaviors and can be successful when transported into specialist treatment settings and performed by alcohol and drug counselors.
9. As presented in the literature, brief interventions to change substance abuse behaviors can involve a variety of approaches, ranging from unstructured counseling and feedback to formal structured therapy.
10. Even though abstainers do not require intervention, they can be educated about substance use with the aim of preventing a substance abuse disorder. Such prevention education programs are particularly important for youth.
11. The goal of intervention with substance abusers, depending on the clinician's theoretical perspective and the substances used, is to prevent any increase in the use of substances, to facilitate introspection about the consequences of risky behavior, to encourage the client to consider assessment or treatment, and to encourage moderation or abstinence.
12. Intervention for substance dependant users may focus on encouraging users to consider treatment, to contemplate abstinence, or to return to treatment after a relapse. The goal of intervention for dependent users is to recommend the optimal behavior change and level of care. In reality, however, the clinician may be able to negotiate a change the client is willing to accept and work over time toward abstinence.
13. Talking about change involves talking about the possibility of changing behavior. It is used with clients in all stages of change, but it differs profoundly depending on the stage the client has reached.
14. Counselors should tailor the closure to the client and the particular circumstance of this brief intervention; interpret any client resistance in a positive light leading to progress. Thus, if a client has been unwilling to commit to changes, the counselor should thank her for her willingness to consider the issues and express the hope that she will continue to consider committing to changes.
15. NIAAA reviewed the studies focused on alcohol-dependent drinkers. Some of these studies focused on the effectiveness of motivating alcohol-dependent patients to enter specialized alcohol treatment. As long ago as 1962, a nonrandomized study was conducted of alcohol-dependent patients, identified in the emergency department). Of those receiving brief counseling, 35 percent followed through in keeping a subsequent appointment in a specialized alcohol treatment setting. Only1 percent in the control group followed through with an appointment.
16. Brief therapy differs from longer term therapy in that it focuses more on the present, downplays psychic causality, emphasizes using effective therapeutic tools in a shorter time, and focuses on a specific behavioral change rather than large-scale or pervasive change. A number of specific types of therapy are designed to be carried out in a brief period. Many longer approaches have been or can be adapted; even lengthy psychodynamic approaches have been adapted for brief therapy with clear guidelines for their use.
17. Brief therapy may be appropriate for heavy drinkers such as commercial airline pilots but inappropriate as the sole treatment for people such as college going students who are light to moderate drinkers, no matter what the motivation is for treatment.
18. Determining when to use a particular type of brief therapy is also an important consideration for counselors and therapists. Counselors recognize that not all clients are at the same stage in their readiness for treatment. Clinical interventions should be targeted to the client's stage of readiness for change to increase his motivation to change behaviors and to augment a sense of empowerment in recovery. Therapies that work with experiential processes (such as consciousness raising, self-reevaluation, and a cognitive restructuring) are more important for understanding and predicting transition from preparation to action and from action to maintenance.
19. Termination of therapy should always be planned in advance. In many types of brief therapy, the end of therapy will be an explicit focus of discussion in which the therapist should leave the client on good terms, with an enhanced sense of hope for continued change and maintenance of changes already accomplished.
20. It is always advisable for the therapist to follow up with clients who have completed brief therapy. Follow up reassures the client that the therapist is concerned about her progress. In addition, it is an effective way to gather much-needed data regarding treatment effectiveness. Aftercare, when additional treatment is provided, is not part of the brief therapy process. However, follow up activities such as offering reassurance and tracking client status are customary.
21. Some of the therapies that can be used to treat substance abuse include:
22. A few differences that help distinguish brief interventions from brief therapies include:
23. Brief interventions are a useful component of a full spectrum of treatment options; they are particularly valuable when more
24. Most brief interventions offer the client:
25. The assessment typically involves
26. Some of the outcomes in relation to mechanisms to use during evaluation include:
27. The goal of a brief intervention with someone who is a light or moderate drinkers is to:
28. Brief interventions with at risk users for alcohol problems address
29. A brief intervention consists of five basic steps that incorporate FRAMES and remain consistent regardless of the number of sessions or the length of the intervention: The second step of brief intervention is:
30. When clients feel they are being pushed toward change--even if the clinician is not pushing--they are:
31. One of the most important skills for brief interventions is:
32. Which is the hallmark of a person in the contemplation stage of readiness, (this is one of the most prevalent clinical challenges encountered in brief interventions.)
33. The potential benefits of using brief interventions in substance abuse treatment settings include:
34. Treatment providers who work in settings other than substance abuse treatment must be flexible when
35. Core assessment areas for brief therapy include:
36. Assessment is critical:
37. In brief therapy the therapist must accomplish certain critical tasks during the first session, including:
38. Treatment goals should focus on the central problem of substance abuse and include which of the following:
39. In subsequent sessions of brief therapy, therapists should:
40. Strategies to help maintain the progress made during brief therapy include:

Brief Interventions and Brief Therapies for Substance Abuse

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Training Material

http://radar.boisestate.edu/pdfs/TIP34.pdf

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Course Description

Brief interventions and brief therapies have become increasingly important modalities in the treatment of individuals across the substance abuse continuum. The content of the interventions and therapies will vary depending on the substance used, the severity of problem being addressed, and the desired outcome.

Because brief interventions and therapies are less costly yet have proven effective in substance abuse treatment, clinicians, clinical researchers, and policymakers have increasingly focused on them as tools to fill the gap between primary prevention efforts and more intensive treatment for persons with serious substance abuse disorders. However, studies have shown that brief interventions are effective for a range of problems, and the Consensus Panel believes that their selective use can greatly improve substance abuse treatment by making them available to a greater number of people and by tailoring the level of treatment to the level of client need.

Brief Interventions and Brief Therapies for Substance Abuse

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Training Material

http://radar.boisestate.edu/pdfs/TIP34.pdf

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Learning Objectives

After completing this training the health care professional will:

  • Utilize counseling skills such as active listening and helping clients explore and resolve ambivalence
  • Discuss the basic elements of brief therapies
  • Have a working knowledge of the stages of change through which a client moves when thinking about, beginning, and trying to maintain new behavior
Kristen Lawton Barry, Ph.D.
University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry
Published by Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and SAMHSA