ABSTRACT
Mental health providers are the ideal group to inform and guide the treatment of substance use disorder. Mental health treatments are designed to change behaviors that cause problems for patients or others around them. Substance use disorders are characterized by a set of behaviors that are personally devastating and often detrimental to loved ones and the society at large. Unfortunately, there has been a historical divide between mental health and substance
use disorder treatment. Indeed, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and professional counselors often believe that they do not have the expertise to treat substance use disorders, so they exclude patients with those problems from their practice. is leaves treatment of substance use disorder to disciplines that possess less knowledge or interest in the use of evidencebased treatments. is chapter describes evidence-based treatment of substance use disorder that can-and should-be directed by mental health professionals.
