NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Larry Dupree, Ph.D. at dupree@fmhi.usf.edu , Larry Schonfeld, Ph.D. at schonfeld@fmhi.usf.edu
News release written by Storie Miller

" FMHI Faculty Co-Author Manual For Substance Abuse And Mental Health Services Administration Aimed At Helping Older Adults Who Have Substance Use Disorders."

 
(Tampa, January 5, 2006)

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimates that as many as 17 percent of adults older than age 60 are affected by alcohol abuse and prescription drug misuse, and has identified the abuse of alcohol, prescription drugs, and illicit drugs as a ³hidden epidemic² in the expanding older adult population. Estimates suggest that the number of people ages 50 and older in need of substance abuse treatment will increase‹from 1.7 million in 2001 to 4.9 million in 2020 (Gfroerer et al. 2003).

In order to address this concern, the Department of Aging and Mental Health Chair Larry Dupree Ph.D., and Professor Larry Schonfeld Ph.D. have co-authored a manual for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration aimed at helping older adults who have substance use disorders. The manual, Substance Abuse Relapse Prevention for Older Adults: A Group Treatment Approach, serves as a guide for counselors and other treatment providers and includes background and how-to directions for introducing a relapse-prevention approach that uses the cognitive-behavioral and self-management intervention (CB/SM) in a counselor-led group treatment.

Cognitive-behavioral and self-management intervention has been used by counselors from a range of backgrounds and professional disciplines, including social workers, peer counselors, addiction counselors, nurses, and psychologists. Although the primary intended audience for this manual is counselors in substance abuse treatment programs, others such as primary care clinicians, social workers, and senior center staff who have regular contact with older adults may find the manual useful. The manual can also be adapted for use in other types of treatment for older adults, including individual counseling sessions, and in a variety of settings, such as inpatient, or intensive outpatient treatment settings.

Click here to order from SAMHSA¹s National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) or order by phone 800-729-6686 or 800-487-4889 (TDD). Or, you can download the manual as a pdf file by clicking on: http://kap.samhsa.gov/products/manuals/pdfs/substanceabuserelapse.pdf

 

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