Introduction to Recovery from Problematic Substance Use

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based on material published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and is available as an open-access article. Recovery-oriented counseling can occur in a wide variety of settings, not just in specialized substance use disorder (SUD) treatment settings. The conceptualization of problematic substance use has evolved from misunderstanding it as a moral failure, to thinking of it as a disease, to, increasingly, applying a biopsychosocial model that takes into account an individual's lived context. In a related shift, the SUD treatment field's traditional approach to problematic substance use emphasizing acute, episodic, clinician-driven, siloed treatment is beginning to give way to an approach that emphasizes longer-term, person-driven, holistic, integrated recovery-oriented care. Recovery from problematic substance use is a process of change that may or may not include total abstinence as a goal. Recovery has many pathways. Recurrence of substance use after a period of resolved problematic use does not mean that recovery has failed. It may mean that treatment or recovery approaches, or both, need adjusting. Recovery benefits not just individuals with substance use-related problems, but also their friends and family members, their communities and employers, and society. Ideally, people with problematic substance use have access to recovery-oriented systems of care, in which providers of treatment, recovery support, and other services take a long-term, coordinated, and holistic approach to addressing individuals substance use related problems. The relatively new field of recovery research has the neuroscience of recovery, non abstinence approaches, the behavioral economics of recovery, and the role of recovery support services among its priorities. This course on recovery from problematic substance use is designed for clinical social workers, psychologists, professional counselors, nurses, and substance abuse counselors who do clinical work. This course is appropriate for intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop their expertise with recovery from problematic substance use. The course material includes a literature review of interventions. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require continuing clinical education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article that includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading and others do not. A significant benefit of reading peer reviewed research-based articles for continuing education is that they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field. Authors: SAMHSA Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding recovery from problematic substance use. Specifically, a professional will: Recognize principles of recovery. Identify settings for recovery oriented counseling and the scope of practice for providing counseling. Describe statistics associated with substance use as well as influences on vulnerability to problematic substance use. Describe the service landscape and workforce for substance use treatment. Citation: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Introduction to Recovery from Problematic Substance Use. Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://store.samhsa.gov.