The Clinician's Guide to Substance Use Disorders

Written in his signature personable yet straightforward style, Paul Brasler, LCSW, offers a clinically sound, must-have resource for health care professionals who are working with substance use disorders in any capacity. With its strong emphasis on person-centered care, this book offers a refreshing approach for working alongside people with substance use disorders that humanizes the addiction crisis and shifts the focus to the person, not their diagnosis. Each chapter includes reproducible handouts, exercises, and assessment tools that walk readers through the stages of the therapeutic process, from intake and assessment to treatment planning and recovery. Whether you work in mental health, medical, educational, religious, or legal settings, the tools in this book will help you: - Confront stigma and lower barriers to treatment - Determine the correct level of care - Understand the unique intoxication and withdrawal profiles of each substance - Ask the right screening and assessment questions - Address and treat common co-occurring disorders - Work with substance use disorders in the family - Improve client engagement across various stages of change - Consider strategies for special populations, including adolescents, racial and ethnic minorities, military personnel, and more - Navigate common legal and ethical issues