The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) publishes a Treatment Improvement Protocol Series (TIPS), which contains a truly remarkable body of information in support of the treatment of addictive disorders. Currently the series contains more than 30 volumes. The best part is that they are all available without cost. TIPS may be ordered by contacting the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI), 800-729-6686 or 301-468-2600 or visiting www.ncadi.samhsa.gov. Most are available in downloadable formats at http://text.nlm.nih.gov Web site. The order code for TIP 31 is BKD 306, and the order code for TIP 32 is BKD307.

In several instances CSAT has reissued earlier TIPS with updated information and discontinued the publication of earlier editions. The two described here, TIP 31 (Screening and Assessing Adolescents For Substance Use Disorders) and TIP 32 (Treatment of Adolescents With Substance Abuse Disorders) are updates of TIPS 3 and 4, which focus on adolescent treatment. The Executive Summary of TIP 31 states that this TIP “is designed to help juvenile justice, health and human service, and substance use disorder treatment personnel better identify, screen, and assess people 11 to 21 years old who may be experiencing substance-related problems. The TIP details warning signs of substance use disorders among adolescents, when to screen, when to assess, what domains besides substance use to assess, and how to involve the family and other collaterals. Also covered are the legal issues of screening and assessing teenagers, including confidentiality, duty to warn, and how to communicate with other agencies. The TIP also includes a chapter specifically for those working in the juvenile justice system who want to improve their screening and assessment procedures” (TIP 31, CSAT, 1999).

An especially helpful component in Appendix C of TIP 31 is the presentation of techniques for drug recognition. Drug recognition techniques were developed originally by the Los Angeles Police Department to help law enforcement officers identify drug-impaired motorists in traffic arrest situations. Although seldom discussed, these underused skills are valuable for counselors in the addiction treatment field, adolescent or otherwise, especially those doing intake screenings at detoxification centers or in adolescent settings where identification of drug use via invasive testing such as urine or blood is not always an option. Readers who are interested in further knowledge in this area can check out the Addiction Technology Transfer Center at Brown University, which offers an excellent online course on these techniques, “Introduction to Drug Recognition and Impairment” (www.attc-ne.org/education).

The authors of TIP 32 state that its “organization reflects the core facets of initiating, engaging, and maintaining the change process for youths with substance use disorders.” TIP 32 discusses the continuum of interventions traditionally viewed as acute intervention, rehabilitation, and maintenance focusing on three common types of treatment: Twelve-Step-based Treatment, therapeutic communities, and family therapy. The work offers guidelines for using a severity continuum to assess factors considered in making treatment decisions. The scope and complexity of adolescent addiction problems, as well as features of successful programs, are detailed. Good information on adolescents with distinctive treatment needs, such as youths involved in the juvenile justice system, homeless and runaway youth, and youth with coexisting disorders is also presented. Chapter eight describes the legal and ethical issues that relate to the diagnosis and treatment of adolescents. Appendix B details the medical management of drug intoxication and withdrawal.

The usefulness of the entire Treatment Improvement Protocol Series for either formal education or independent study is not to be overlooked. I use them as classroom “textbooks” ordering multiple copies to give to my students, and encourage them to access from CSAT those copies that I do not provide. One caution is that all volumes are generally not available at all times. There are frequently gaps between supply and demand when one or more is out for printing. If you’re planning to adopt one for classroom use, be sure to order it well in advance.

Lindsay E. Freese, MEd, MAC, LADC ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) is Professor of Human Service at the New Hampshire Community Technical College in Concord, NH. Over the past 20 years, he has worked in private practice and both clinically and administratively in residential programs. He is a past president of the New Hampshire Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselor Association.

This article is published in Counselor,The Magazine for Addiction Professionals, April 2004, v.5, n.2, pp. 78-79.

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