As the number of substance abusers worldwide continues to grow, the number and type of treatment providers are also on the rise. With the help of the American Society of addiction medicine (ASAM) and their specifically designed criteria, different levels of care can be provided to substance users and abusers through ASAM courses. You will be offered individualized treatment planning, readily available access to help and services, and ongoing reassessment while under ASAM care.
By the end of the course, facilitators will be able to match treatment settings, interventions, and services to each individual’s particular problems as well as often changing treatment needs. You can trust that ASAM courses advocate for individualized, assessment-driven treatment and flexible use of services for their students.
Because patients can become lost when the help or treatment they need is not immediately available, ASAM courses also advocate for a system in which readily available medicine and therapy are encompassed. This is why ASAM courses work great for patients in outpatient care. As more patients enroll in classes to become ASAM students, the waiting lists for residential treatment have decreased, thus improving access to care.
The philosophy behind ASAM classes is that treatment can attend to multiple needs of an individual, not just their alcohol or drug use. For this to be effective, ASAM courses offer ways to address any associated medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal problems. We can see the importance of incorporating multidimensional assessment and treatment into these courses through these six dimensions. This allows students to use their treatment to extend beyond the simple resolution of observable habits to achieve overall healthier functioning. Students respond to treatment through new insights, attitudes, and behaviors that stabilize their condition and alter its course.
One of the many benefits of enrolling in an ASAM course is knowing that you will receive an individualized treatment plan. A consultation is done with the student to help create an individualized treatment plan. The plan can then be used as a guide to tailor to that individual’s needs. A program like this will be based on a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment of the patient and a comprehensive evaluation of their family as well.
The plan goes over any problems (obstacles that hinder recovery, skills or values deficits, dysfunction), strengths (readiness to change, positive and supportive social community, strong connection to a source of support), priorities ( treatment and risk obstacles outlined and arranged according to severity), goals (guided by realistic, achievable, short term and long term resolutions), methods, and a timetable set in advance for follow-through interviews and reviews that promote accountability. Another benefit to an individualized treatment plan is its ability to help facilitate the measurement of progress in the ASAM course and after graduation.
