Volume 2, Number 2 - August 2004

A Note From NIDA's Director
[PDF - 64K]
Nora D. Volkow, M.D.

Stepping Into the Wide World
[PDF - 48K]
David Anderson

Practical Considerations for the Clinical Use of Buprenorphine
[PDF - 284K]
Hendrée E. Jones, Ph.D.
Buprenorphine is a new and attractive medication option for many opioid-addicted adults and their physicians. Before initiating buprenorphine treatment, providers must be aware of such critical factors as how the medication works, its efficacy and safety profile, how it is used in opioid withdrawal as well as maintenance treatment, and how patients can best be selected, educated about buprenorphine, and monitored throughout treatment. This article reviews these important issues as well as requirements for physician and staff training and needs for additional research on this unique medication.

• RESPONSE: INTEGRATING BUPRENORPHINE THERAPY INTO CLINICAL PRACTICE
  [PDF - 92K]
  
• Links to Selected References from this Article
  
  

Community Treatment Programs Take Up Buprenorphine
[PDF - 88K]
Paul P. Casadonte, M.D., George F. Kolodner, M.D., Terry Horton, M.D., and Suzanne M. McMurphy, M.S.S., Ph.D.
Clinicians have been working out ways to incorporate buprenorphine into their treatment models. Representatives of three addiction treatment programs—a Veterans Affairs methadone clinic, a group of outpatient mental health centers, and a nationwide organization of therapeutic communities—talk about their plans and experiences.

Behavioral Couples Therapy for Substance Abuse: Rationale, Methods, and Findings
[PDF - 252K]
William Fals-Stewart, Ph.D., Timothy J. O’Farrell, Ph.D., and Gary R. Birchler, Ph.D.
Behavioral couples therapy (BCT), a treatment approach for married or cohabiting drug abusers and their partners, attempts to reduce substance abuse directly and through restructuring the dysfunctional couple interactions that frequently help sustain it. In multiple studies with diverse populations, patients who engage in BCT have consistently reported greater reductions in substance use than have patients who receive only individual counseling. Couples receiving BCT also have reported higher levels of relationship satisfaction and more improvements in other areas of relationship and family functioning, including intimate partner violence and children’s psychosocial adjustment. This review describes the use of BCT in the treatment of substance abuse, discusses the intervention’s theoretical rationale, and summarizes the supporting literature.

• RESPONSE: FAMILIES, MODELS, RELATIONSHIPS
  [PDF - 88K]
  
• Links to Selected References from this Article
  

Residential Treatment for Parents and Their Children: The Village Experience
[PDF - 276K]
Valera Jackson, M.S.
The Village South, Inc., in Miami, Florida, offers comprehensive substance abuse treatment and prevention services to adults, adolescents, and children. The Village’s Families in Transition program, launched in the early 1990s as one of the Nation’s first 11 federally funded programs for women wth children, has provided services to nearly 800 parents and approximately 2,000 children. This article discusses the philosophy behind FIT’s family focused residential treatment program, characterizes its participants, describes its challenges and successes, and points out research needs that have come to light through experience with mothers and children in treatment.

• RESPONSE: TREATMENT IN TRANSITION
  [PDF - 84K]
  
• Links to Selected References from this Article
  

Community Coalitions and Prevention: A Panel Discussion
[PDF - 136K]
Deacon Dzierzawski, M.A., Paul Florin, Ph.D., J.David Hawkins, Ph.D., Harold D. Holder, Ph.D., Harry Kressler, M.A., and Gwendolyn Hughes Wilson, M.A.
On January 20, 2004, at the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) National Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C., Science & Practice Perspectives joined with CADCA to sponsor a panel discussion on the possibilities of science-based prevention. CADCA represents some 5,000 local drug abuse prevention agencies; its National Community Anti-Drug Coalition Institute seeks to foster its members’ use of appropriate standards for evaluation and research.

This Issue's Authors
[PDF - 60K]

A Topography of Risk and Protection
[PDF - 108K]

You can earn two nationally certified continuing education (CE) hours by reading the indicated articles and then printing out and completing this multiple-choice quiz. This is an open-book exam. Complete the quiz by circling one or more of the multiple-choice answers. Be sure to answer all questions since unanswered questions will be scored as incorrect. You must score at least 70 percent to earn CE hours.
[PDF - 60K]

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Questions? See our Contact Information. Last updated on Friday, October 15, 2004.