substance use

Naltrexone, Suboxone, and Methadone can all be used to treat this

Opioid Use Disorder

This term describes a drug or medication that binds to receptors and prevents

other chemicals from interacting with the same receptors, resulting in a net

decrease in signaling.

Antagonist

This medication causes an individual to feel sick when they consume alcohol.

Antabuse (Disulfiram)

Suboxone, or buprenorphine, could be described using this term. It describes a

drug or medication that binds to a receptor and produces a response, but also

blocks other chemicals or medications from binding to it.

Partial Agonist

This term describes the reduced effect of a substance in an individual who has

used the substance repeatedly.

Tolerance

This term describes the physiological and/or psychological symptoms someone

might experience after abruptly stopping their substance use

Withdrawal Syndrome

This term describes the lingering psychological symptoms someone might

experience even months after initiating abstinence from a substance they were

dependent on

Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS)

This is the act of using two or more substances in a short time window, sometimes

resulting in dangerous effects.

concurrent substance use

This term describes the relationship between two substances that magnify each

other’s effects when used together.

Superadditive (Potentiating)

These two substances combine into a new, riskier psychoactive compound if

used together

alcohol and Cocaine

This term, or “component”, describes the tendency of individuals with substance

use disorders to return to addictive behaviors, even when they sincerely are

interested in remaining abstinent.

Relapse

A clinician who believes that their client began using substances to treat their own

preexisting depression might be a fan of this theory.

self-medication theory

Adverse childhood experiences, impulsivity, and in utero substance exposure all

fall under this umbrella term, which lists traits and experiences that people with

substance use disorders and other mental health conditions frequently report

common factors

Clinicians who practice motivational interviewing use this term to describe their

clients’ stated reasons for continuing to use substances

sustain talk

This is a major goal in motivational interviewing. It involves promoting a non-

judgmental environment so a client can reflect on their reasons for drug use and

how drug use might conflict with their life goals or values.

developing discrepency

Although there are some limitations to this theory, research supports the idea

that substance use can activate preexisting vulnerabilities to certain mental

health conditions. This results in somebody becoming symptomatic or even

developing a diagnosable mental health disorder after substance use has

started

hypersensitvity theory

This stage describes an individual who has not yet committed to making a change

about their substance use, although they are increasingly aware of problems

introduced by their addiction.

contemplation

This model used to categorize levels of motivation proposes that certain therapy

goals should shift depending on how motivated a client might be to change.

Interestingly, the “12-steps” of Alcoholics Anonymous follow a similar sequence

from start to finish

The Transtheoretical Model of Change

This evidence-based treatment calls for the use of incentives to reinforce pro-

recovery behaviors

contigency management

This model identifies withdrawal, tolerance, salience, and a few others as

distinguishing features of addictions.

components model

This structured interview is quite lengthy, but can be used to objectively

determine the appropriate level of care for an individual seeking addiction

treatment.

ASAM Criteria

How efficient! These instruments are used to identify patients who might need

more follow up.

screeners

This model considers both mental health treatment needs and addiction

treatment needs to estimate where a client is most likely to be encountered.

Quadrant Model of Dual Diagnosis

This form of care is easy to implement, but generic and may leave clients feeling

like their individual needs haven’t been addressed.

Program-Centered Care

These specialty treatment settings are a form of diversion. Eligible participants

have a history of addiction and are usually facing criminal charges or have pled

guilty to charges

drug courts

Sound the alarms! This psychometric quality is emphasized in tools that don’t

want to risk someone with a dangerous condition falling through the cracks.

sensitivity

Concerned family members, law enforcement officers, and physicians all can

initiate this process in Massachusetts. It can be found in this section of chapter

123 in Massachusetts General Law.

section 35

The University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale (URICA) measures

motivation and attempts to assign an examinee to a single category from this

dynamic model

stages of change

This level of care is more intense and is usually considered for individuals with

drug dependencies that could produce serious, or even lethal, symptoms if they

abruptly abstain from use

medically-supervised detox

This specifier in the DSM-5TR is used to identify an individual with a substance

use disorder who is currently taking a replacement medication.

On Maintenance Therapy

This philosophy to treatment prioritizes the prevention of harmful outcomes, as

opposed to strictly enforcing abstinence.

harm reduction

Many evidence-based treatments for addictions will focus on increasing this trait.

It describes a client’s perception of their own ability to face challenges.

Self-efficacy

Evidence-based treatments for addictions that focus on behavior will often utilize

this method for shaping behavior.

Reinforcement (reward)

Following a client’s relapse, a clinician might use this strategy to increase the

client’s insight surrounding thoughts and feelings before, during, and after the

substance use.

Functional Analysis of Substance Use Behavior

A drug that has been deemed highly addictive, dangerous, and not medically

useful will typically be classified here according to the Comprehensive Drug

Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970.

Schedule 1

This pharmacokinetic term estimates how long it takes for the body to metabolize

a particular substance.

half-life

This term describes the relationship between the number of substances one is

addicted to and the presence of co-occurring disorders. Simply put: more drugs

= more comorbidities

dose-response relationship

For the treatment of addictions, research suggests that these counseling groups

might be more effective than those that focus exclusively on education

process group

These groups for people in recovery are not led by a trained clinician. Instead,

participants of these groups are peers looking for support and to support one

another in their challenges with addictions.

mutal help groups

This level of prevention doesn’t target any individuals based on symptoms or risk,

rather, it focuses on making the environment incompatible with the outcome to

be prevented.

primordial

Gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter of the brain. Not to be

confused with _____, the brain’s main excitatory neurotransmitter.

Glutamate

Withdrawal symptoms associated with severe alcohol use can sometimes be life-threatening; they can

even include seizures or hallucinations. ______, which also work on GABA, can produce similar

withdrawal symptoms in severe use.

Xanax and other benzodiazepines

A medication binds to a dopamine receptor and does not activate the receptor, instead, it blocks the

receptor and prevents other chemicals from binding to it. What term would describe this medication?

antagonist

If an ingested substance has a half-life of 3 days, what percent of the original substance should still be

in someone’s system 12 days after administration?

6%

Screeners are used to identify individuals who could benefit from an intervention. Do screeners

typically emphasize sensitivity or specificity?

sensitivity

If two substances are even more potent than normal when used concurrently, what word could be used

to describe their relationship?

superadditive

if prolonged use of one substance has led to a reduced effect in a new, different substance that a person

has just used for the first time, it could be possible that _____ is the cause.

cross-tolerance