Email UpdatesJanuary 2025 marks the beginning of the inaugural Substance Use Disorder Treatment Month. According to the most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health, only 23.6% of people for whom substance use treatment was deemed necessary received services in 2023. This observance will support people seeking help for substance use, practitioners treating substance use disorders, and loved ones of those with substance use difficulties.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released a toolkit to help organizations raise awareness about treatment, combat stigma surrounding substance use disorders, encourage individuals on their recovery journeys, and promote best practices within healthcare spaces. The toolkit features virtual backgrounds, newsletter content, suggested messaging approaches, weekly themes, and two SAMHSA-sponsored events. SAMHSA also recently published reports related to substance use and its treatment including an issue brief on Co-Occurring Mental Health and Substance Use, Federal Guidelines for Opioid Treatment Programs, and the Treatment Episode Data Set for 2022, with data on admissions to and discharges from substance use treatment services.
The SAMHSA training materials and resources web page for substance use disorder medications has further information for treatment providers. During January, check out the Academy’s event calendar as sessions related to substance use disorder treatment may be featured, such as these webinars hosted by the Providers Clinical Support System: “The Link Between Trauma and Alcohol Use Disorder: Utilizing Medications as a Way Forward” and “Integrating Care: The Role of MOUD in Addressing Opioid Use Disorder and Infectious Disease”. Use the Academy’s Substance Use Tools & Resources to identify more materials related to substance use treatment. For further reading on substance use disorder treatment, refer to the Academy’s Literature Collection. Individuals seeking treatment should use the FindTreatment.gov website to locate services near them or call 800-662-HELP (4357).