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Chapter 3 - Illicit Drug Use: Clinical Features and Treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2021

By
Ed Day
Edited by
Ed Day
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Summary

This chapter starts by describing the key features of drug use disorders and how to assess them, including using objective tests of substance use. The principles of medical treatment are described, incorporating harm reduction strategies, medically assisted withdrawal, agonist therapies and relapse prevention. Opiates are used as a case study to consider the theory and practicalities of each approach, before describing how to integrate psychosocial interventions into an integrated approach to treatment. Stimulants and cannabis are then considered, before a review of the overarching concept of recovery and its application in recovery-orientated systems of care.

Keywords

illicit drugsassessmenturine testingharm reductionmedically assisted withdrawalopioid agonist therapyrelapse preventionpsychosocial interventionrecoveryrecovery orientated systems of care
Type
Chapter
Information
Seminars in Addiction Psychiatry , pp. 42 - 67
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

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