Combined Pharmacological and psychosocial interventions

• Nurses should advocate and support access to combined pharmacological and psychosocial interventions to improve well-being and health outcomes of clients

• When administering a dose of medication to a client, every nurse should assess the appropriateness of the medication following the eight rights of medication administration.

• The following psychosocial interventions (formal intervention, informal interventions and/or type of service delivery) can be useful in the management of substance use disorders. These include:

1. 12-Step and Self-Help Groups
2. Alternative therapies such as acupuncture and mindfulness meditation
3. Case Management
4. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
5. Community Reinforcement Approach
6. Contingency Management (CM)
7. Couples and Family Therapy
8. Group Therapy
9. Multi-Family Dimensional Therapy (MDFT)
10. Telemedicine

This list was informed by the literature and by expert panel consensus; it is not an exhaustive list.For more information on psychosocial interventions, please refer to the Engaging Clients Who Use Substances Best Practice Guideline Appendix K (Page 100) for additional resources.