Brief intervention, UTC for healthcare professionals

Interpretation of the results of the screening instruments enables the health care staff to identify those persons who may require help for their drug use. Based on the level of risk found in each case, the health care staff will use their clinical judgment to personalize the interventions that can be used to improve the health and wellbeing of people using drugs. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2004) recommends the use of brief interventions to prevent health problems and reduce the harms they cause. In these interventions, the health care professional will design a particular approach to each problem by identifying the situation to be resolved, setting goals, designing interventions for achieving those goals, examining the answers to correct the approach, and lastly, assessing the effectiveness of the outcome of the intervention (Cade, 1995).

Specifically, brief intervention is pragmatic and is centered on an analysis of the ideas (constructs) and repetitive behaviors surrounding the disorder. Its principal goals are therefore to modify beliefs or constructs related to the problem and to modify repeated behavior related to the problem. Brief interventions have the following elements in common (Rodríguez-Martos, 2002):

 They are used over a limited time period (usually not more than 10 sessions)
 They include an overall assessment of the person, and brief counseling or advice
 Therapist support continues during a follow-up period
 The main objective is to ensure that people who are not necessarily seeking treatment should change their problem behavior

The different methods of brief intervention share two principal characteristics: setting and structure. In terms of setting, there are two main groups (Heather, 1995): 1) interventions based on a specific service, and 2) community-based interventions, which are usually performed opportunistically when clients who come in for a consultation for a reason other than alcohol, tobacco or drug use are identified. There are also brief interventions that last longer periods and include additional activities that can help the clients to achieve their goals. Brief intervention or treatment (4-24 sessions) also looks at activities or programs that can be carried out based on the severity of the substance use disorder. Brief interventions may help people become aware of the connection between their use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, and different health problems; identify problematic or risky substance use; reduce their substance use, and be encouraged to enter treatment, if necessary (Treatnet, 2008 ; Babor, 2001)

References

Babor, T. F. & Higgins-Biddle, J. C (2001). Brief Intervention for Hazardous and Harmful Drinking: A Manual for use in Primary Care. Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO/MSD/MSB/01.6b).

Cade, B. & Hudson, W. (1995). Guía breve de terapia breve. Barcelona-Buenos Aires-Mexico: Ediciones PAIDOS.

Heather N. (1995). Brief Intervention Strategies. In: R. K., Hester & W. R., Miller (eds.): Handbook of Alcoholism Treatment Approaches. Effective Alternatives (pp. 105–122). Boston, London: Allyn & Bacon.

Rodríguez-Martos, A. (2002). Efectividad de las técnicas de consejo breve. Adicciones, 14 S1, 337 – 351.

Treatnet. (2008). Screening, assessment and treatment planning. http://www.unodc.org/ddt-training/treatment/a.html

World Health Organization, (2004). Accessed at http://www.who.int/topics/en/
 

Related topics

UTC for healthcare professionals

• Neurobiology of Addiction: https://www.issup.net/node/7342
• Classification of Drugs: https://www.issup.net/node/7521
• Treatment Generalities: https://www.issup.net/network/13