Lesson 1Timeline follow-back, standard drinks, cocaine use metrics, polysubstance explorationThis part explains timeline follow-back method, standard drink measures, cocaine use amounts, and how to track multiple substance patterns over time to gauge risk, help diagnosis, and check treatment progress with real clinic examples.
Timeline follow-back interview techniqueDefining and calculating standard drink unitsCocaine quantity, purity, and route metricsDocumenting polysubstance patterns over timeUsing metrics to monitor treatment responseLesson 2Psychiatric history and symptom review techniques for mood, anxiety, psychosisThis part covers steady psychiatric history taking in addiction care, including mood swings, worry, madness, and sleep issues, stressing how to tell apart symptoms from substances, using check tools, and checking daily life impact and dangers.
Eliciting past and current psychiatric diagnosesScreening for mood and anxiety in substance usersRecognizing psychosis and substance-induced statesAssessing sleep, cognition, and functional impactUsing brief validated psychiatric screenersLesson 3Social determinants: housing, employment, legal issues, insurance and accessThis part looks at checking social factors affecting health like place to live, work, court matters, insurance, and getting care, and shows how to use those findings in treatment plans, speaking up for patients, and linking to community help.
Housing stability and living environmentEmployment, income, and financial stressorsLegal involvement and criminal justice issuesInsurance coverage and care access barriersLinking patients to social and legal resourcesLesson 4Detailed substance use history: quantity, frequency, pattern, routes, binge/withdrawal signsThis part teaches how to get full details on substance use history like when it started, amounts, how often, ways taken, binge times, withdrawal signs, past treatments, spotting tolerance, loss of control, and DSM-5 signs for substance use problems.
Chronology of first use and progressionAssessing quantity, frequency, and routesIdentifying binge and high-risk use patternsScreening for tolerance and withdrawal signsLinking history to DSM-5 SUD criteriaLesson 5Medication, medical comorbidity, and over-the-counter/substance replacement historyThis part goes over gathering medicine, other health issues, and over-the-counter or substitute substance histories, pointing out mixes that cause trouble, liver and heart risks, pain handling, and how it affects medicine treatment plans.
Current and past prescribed medicationsMedical comorbidities relevant to addictionOver-the-counter and herbal substance useNicotine, cannabis, and self-directed replacementDrug–drug interactions and safety concernsLesson 6Working with limited collateral and building engagement with marginalized patientsThis part looks at ways to work with little extra info and connect with sidelined patients, using motivational talk, harm cutting, trust building, and handling doubt, shame, and system blocks for steady follow-up.
Assessing reliability of self-report dataUsing motivational interviewing micro-skillsHarm reduction framing in early encountersBuilding trust amid stigma and mistrustPlanning follow-up with unstable contactLesson 7Step-by-step addiction-focused interview flow (presenting complaint to collateral history)This part lays out a step-by-step addiction interview from main complaint and substance history to medical, mental, social, and extra info, stressing order, bendability, and time handling in different clinic spots.
Clarifying presenting complaint and goalsSequencing substance, medical, and psych historyIntegrating social, legal, and functional domainsStrategic use of collateral and recordsTime management in brief clinical encountersLesson 8Trauma, intimate partner violence, and safety screening (suicide, homicide, child protection)This part details trauma-aware ways to check for past hurts, partner beatings, self-harm thoughts, killing risks, and child harm, stressing safety plans, must-report rules, records, and teaming with protection and crisis help.
Principles of trauma-informed questioningScreening for intimate partner and family violenceSuicide and homicide risk assessment stepsIdentifying and reporting child abuse or neglectSafety planning and crisis resource linkageLesson 9Structured opening, consent, and establishing rapport in trauma-exposed populationsThis part focuses on starting the interview right, getting agreement, and building trust with hurt-exposed patients, using team-work talk, no-judging ways, clear lines, and culture respect to build faith and cut re-hurting.
Structuring the opening minutes of the visitExplaining purpose, limits of confidentialityObtaining informed consent for sensitive topicsUsing empathic, nonjudgmental languageCultural humility and managing power dynamics
