Instructor:        Steve Meier,  Ph.D. 
Office:             office hours by appointment
Phone:            (208) 883-4412
e-mail:             smeier@uidaho.edu

Course Description

This course is designed to provide you with a comprehensive overview of substance abuse screening and assessment.  This overview will include information related to the diagnosis of substance abuse; information related to particular testing instruments (including the reliability and validity of some instruments); issues and problems that may occur within the testing environment; and issues that may influence the outcome of particular testing instruments.

Prerequisite class

Counseling Techniques I or by faculty approval

Required Texts

DSM IV materials related to Substance Related Disorders.  Pages:  Introduction, 1-36, 175-272, 708-09,793-850

Find a good research methods book that discusses aspects of reliability and validity in great detail.

You will be required to get copies of the following manuals from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.  They can also be obtained by contacting RADAR in Boise.  Their number is 208-426-3471.  Their email address is RADAR@boisestate.edu.  NOTE:  All TIPS manuals are being updated and being placed on line.  For example, TIP 3 has been replaced by TIP 31.  If you cannot find what you are looking for, contact RADAR for the most up to date manual. 

TIPS manuals needed
 

• Screening and Assessment of Alcohol-and Other Drug-Abusing Adolescents [Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series #31].
• Screening and Assessment for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Among Adults in the Criminal Justice System [Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series #7].
• Assessment and Treatment of Patients with Coexisting Mental Illnesses and Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse [Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series #9].
• The Role and Current Status of Patient Placement Criteria in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders. [Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series #13].
• Alcohol and Other Drug Screening of Hospitalized Trauma Patients. [Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series #16].
• Patient Placement Criteria (2nd Edition - American Society for Addictive Medicine.  You can purchase by calling the ASAM

  Publications Distribution Center to order: @ 1-800-844-8948 

Optional Readings

Grading/Evaluation/Proficiency

There will be several requirements for this course.

Papers/Assignments:  You will be required to complete several brief papers related to topics you will encounter throughout the course.  All papers are to be computer or type written.  The assignments can be found under the topics section

Practice Interviews: You will be required to conduct practice interviews with three individuals you may know.  These individuals should not be suffering from any type of substance abuse, mental disorder, or other clinical disorder.  They should be friends you know or other students taking the course.  If you are working in a treatment facility already, you may use clients for these interviews if, you are directly supervised by a clinical supervisor.  Once completed, you will write a narrative of the assessment and develop a diagnosis of the individual.

Other materials and discussions.  I will be emailing you materials and observing discussions.  The discussions will be in Web Ct.  Some lectures and other things may be there as well.  These materials, discussions, and assignments will be graded.

Grading:
All grading will be based on the following scale

• > 90% = A

•    80% = B

•    70% = C

•    60% = D

• < 60% = F

  Cheating and Plagiarism
If you cheat or plagiarize someone else's materials and I catch you, you will receive an F grade in the class and be referred to the University Judicial Council for additional sanctions.