Addiction Treatment

Expert Q&A

Lessons From Street Psychiatry

January 1, 2026

Emma Lo, MD

Medical Director, Connecticut Mental Health Center Street Psychiatry Team; Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.

Dr. Lo has no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

Street psychiatry brings mental health and addiction care directly to unhoused individuals through proactive outreach and long-term trust-building. Dr. Lo describes the importance of collaborating with other providers, applying harm reduction principles, engagement strategies, and how reversing traditional power dynamics helps reach vulnerable “non-utilizers” who rarely access clinics or hospitals.

Understanding 12-Step Programs: A Guide for Clinicians

January 1, 2026

Khaled Draghmeh, MD and Brian Fuehrlein, MD, PhD

Khaled Draghmeh, MD. Postdoctoral associate, psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; Department of Research, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT.

Brian Fuehrlein, MD, PhD. Associate professor of psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; director, psychiatric emergency room, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT.

Dr. Draghmeh and Dr. Fuehrlein have no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

Twelve-step programs remain widely used yet poorly understood in clinical practice. This article outlines the twelve steps, demystifies what happens in meetings, how sponsorship and “90 in 90” support recovery, and how clinicians can address common reservations to make referrals more effective and patient-centered.

Clinical Update

Dextromethorphan Misuse

January 1, 2026

Noah Capurso, MD, MHS

Noah Capurso, MD, MHS. Assistant Medical Director, Addiction Services Division, Connecticut Valley Hospital; Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University; Editor-in-Chief, The Carlat Addiction Treatment Report.

Dr. Capurso has no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

Dextromethorphan misuse is common, especially among young people, yet can easily be overlooked by family and healthcare providers alike. This article reviews recognition of toxicity across the four “plateaus,” psychiatric and medical complications, and supportive management strategies—including when to consider benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, or naloxone.

Research Update

E-Cigarettes for Smoking Cessation: Efficacy and Safety

January 1, 2026

Crystal Obiozor, MD

Crystal Obiozor, MD. Dr. Obiozor has no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

Compared with counseling alone, e-cigarettes significantly improved six-month smoking abstinence, though many participants continued vaping and did not achieve full nicotine cessation. This study supports e-cigarettes as a valuable tool for smokers who struggle with standard cessation medications.

Research Update

Does Take-Home Naloxone Lead to Riskier Drug Use?

January 1, 2026

Crystal Obiozor, MD

Crystal Obiozor, MD. Dr. Obiozor has no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

A large prospective cohort study finds no evidence that take-home naloxone increases risky drug use behaviors. Injection frequency, opioid use, benzodiazepine use, and using alone remained unchanged—reinforcing naloxone’s role as a lifesaving harm-reduction tool without unintended risk compensation.

Fact Sheet

Methadone (Methadose) Fact Sheet [G]

January 1, 2026

Talia Puzantian, PharmD, BCPP and Daniel Carlat, MD

Dr. Capurso, Dr. Puzantian, and Dr. Carlat have no financial relationships with companies related to this material.
Full Fact Sheet Editorial Information

Methadone is a long-acting opioid and a mainstay of opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment.

Fact Sheet

Buprenorphine (Brixadi, Sublocade) Fact Sheet [G]

January 1, 2026

Talia Puzantian, PharmD, BCPP and Daniel Carlat, MD

Dr. Capurso, Dr. Puzantian, and Dr. Carlat have no financial relationships with companies related to this material.
Full Fact Sheet Editorial Information

Buprenorphine (Subutex, available now only as generic) is the active ingredient in Suboxone (buprenorphine/naloxone) and is responsible for the effectiveness of the combination medication in opioid use disorder.