FOCUS ON CLINICAL AND PREVENTION PRACTICE

For the Front-Line Providers of Treatment and Prevention Services

Short Reports Highlighting Important and Practical, Empirical Findings That May Increase Your Effectiveness

Continuing Care
Advancing Recovery project by Rhode Island Partnership will implement continuing care model. Read protocol.

Improving Treatment Through Technology
Clinicians using electronic databases more likely to refer patients to ancillary services.

To make it easier for clinicians to refer patients to supplemental services, Deni Carise, Ph.D. added a module to the TRI-developed DENS Software Suite that allows clinicians to electronically match patient needs to locally available, free or low-cost services. In a NIDA-funded study conducted in Southeastern Pennsylvania, her team found that offering clinicians the "CASPAR," or “Computer Assisted System for Patient Assessment and Referral,” with training, resulted in significant increases in the “match” between patients' problems and services, increases in the number of services received and significantly greater participation in treatment.

Special Reports by Ken Winters, Ph.D: Brief Intervention: Potentially Promising Treatment Strategy for Adolescents
The relatively short, non-intensive Brief Intervention could become a more appropriate response for mild or moderate young drug users who do not meet admission criteria for other forms of treatment.

Immature Brain Structure May Place Teenagers at Greater Risk for Substance Abuse
Research now suggests that the human brain is still maturing during the adolescent years, potentially putting teenagers at an elevated risk to the harmful effects of drugs. More...
View Presentation: Adolescent Brain Development