Substance-use-disorder - Articles

Teen Drinking: Risks and Responses

July 14, 2021

Amy Yule, MD
Director of Adolescent Addiction Psychiatry, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA. Dr. Yule has disclosed no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

What is the problem with a little teenaged experimentation with alcohol? Don’t most kids do it? Learn the risks related to this ubiquitous substance and help protect your patients from potentially life altering or life-threatening outcomes now and for their futures.

Combination Treatment for Schizophrenia

April 12, 2021

T. Scott Stroup, MD, MPH

T. Scott Stroup, MD, MPH
Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia University, NY. Dr. Stroup has disclosed no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Dr. T. Scott Stroup, Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, reveals surprising findings from his research on the use of adjunctive medications for schizophrenia.

How Does Adding CBT Help People With SUD?

December 10, 2020

Thomas Jordan, MD.

Thomas Jordan, MD. Dr. Jordan has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

How helpful is adding a particular psychotherapy like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to medications for substance use disorder (SUD)?

Outpatient Management of Opioid Addiction

October 3, 2019

Sandra Gomez-Luna, MD

Sandra Gomez-Luna, MD

Child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist in Darien, CT. Medical Director of Parent Child Support Center, a subsidiary of Behavioral Health Care (BHcare)

Dr. Gomez-Luna has disclosed that she has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

The opioid crisis demands that child psychiatrists understand more about outpatient treatment in adolescents as more of us are asked to participate in assessment and treatment planning for this population. In this QA, we discuss some of the well-laid-out approaches for child psychiatrists to manage opioid treatment within the child or teen’s community.

Assessing and Treating Cannabis Use Disorder

October 3, 2019

Gabriella Gobbi, MD, PhD

Gabriella Gobbi, MD, PhD

Professor, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University; Psychiatrist and Clinical Scientist at the McGill University Health Center

Dr. Gobbi has disclosed that she has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Child psychiatrists are grappling with the problem of pervasive use of marijuana in an age where legalization of use for adults has led to even greater use in teens. In this QA, we discuss the impact of cannabis, its interaction with depression, and the conundrum of cannabis withdrawal so that child psychiatrists can gain tools for addressing marijuana use and addiction in their outpatient practice.

Primer: Evidence-Based Psychosocial Interventions for Substance Use Disorders

October 2, 2019

Psychosocial interventions for substance use disorders include drug counseling, medical management, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, contingency management, the community reinforcement approach, and twelve-step facilitation

Treating Alcohol Use Disorder

October 2, 2019

Albert J. Arias, MD, MS

Albert J. Arias, MD, MS
Associate Professor, Psychiatry Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. Associate Division Chair, Addiction Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine. Dr. Arias has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

We have five main medications to offer patients with alcohol use disorder: acamprosate, disulfiram, gabapentin, naltrexone (PO or IM), and topiramate. The combination of naltrexone and gabapentin may work better than either of these two medications alone.

Biomarkers of Alcohol Use

October 2, 2019

The newer biomarkers of alcohol use include carbohydrate-deficient transferrin; ethyl glucuronide and ethyl sulfate; and phosphatidylethanol.

N-acetylcysteine Not Effective for Cannabis Use Disorder in Adults

October 2, 2019

Brian Frankel, MD

Brian Frankel, MD Dr. Frankel has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an over-the counter supplement related to the amino acid cysteine, has been shown to have some efficacy in adolescents with cannabis use disorder (CUD). This current study explores whether NAC can be effective for CUD in adult patients as well.

Managing Substance-Related Agitation

May 21, 2019

Thomas Jordan, MD, MPH

Thomas Jordan, MD, MPH Contributing writer to the Carlat newsletters. Dr. Jordan has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

In emergency departments, psychiatrists are often consulted on patients presenting with agitation. In many cases, these patients are under the influence of substances—either from intoxication or withdrawal.