Lesson 1Timeline follow-back, standard drinks, cocaine use metrics, polysubstance explorationThis part explains how to track drinking and drug use over time, count standard drinks, measure cocaine amounts, and look at mixed drug habits to check dangers, make right diagnoses, and watch treatment progress with real-life examples from clinics.
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 taking full mental health histories in addiction care, looking at feelings, worry, mind breaks, and sleep troubles, stressing how to tell apart drug-caused signs from others, using check tools, and checking daily life harm and risks.
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 life factors like home, work, court matters, health cover, and getting care, and shows how to use that info for treatment plans, speaking up for patients, and linking to local help groups.
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 getting full details on drug or drink use, from start, amounts, how often, ways taken, heavy bursts, quit shakes, past helps, spotting habit strength, control loss, and matching DSM-5 addiction signs.
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 checks how to gather pill, body illness, shop-bought or swap substance stories, noting clashes, liver heart dangers, pain care, and plans for drug treatments.
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 shares ways to work when extra info is scarce and connect with outcast patients, using talk to spark change, harm cut, trust build, handling doubt, shame, and big walls to keep coming back.
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 maps a clear step-by-step addiction talk flow, from main worry and drug story to body, mind, community, and extra info, stressing order, bend, and time watch in all 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 care-full ways to check for past hurts, partner fights, self-end, kill thoughts, child harm, stressing safety maps, must-report rules, notes, and team work with safety 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 centers on starting talks right, getting okay, building trust with hurt-exposed folks, using team talk, no-judge words, clear lines, and respect for ways to grow trust and cut re-hurt.
Structuring the opening minutes of the visitExplaining purpose, limits of confidentialityObtaining informed consent for sensitive topicsUsing empathic, nonjudgmental languageCultural humility and managing power dynamics
