ABSTRACT
This chapter describes commonly used psychosocial therapies for young people who misuse substances. Although the evidence base is increasing concerning use of psychosocial interventions with adolescents who misuse substances, it remains more limited than that for adult populations. While relatively clear guidance is available for the use of pharmacological treatments among young people, a lack of consensus remains on the use and relative efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a range of psychosocial treatments. The availability of specific treatments may depend more on the composition and skills of the drug treatment team, and the provision of psychological and social treatments may not be consistently available. Adolescents who misuse substances may not routinely present themselves for specific drug treatment, hence the need to identify and target them when they present to other services. While motivational interviewing techniques are widely used in substance misuse services and many results appear encouraging, studies often make little reference to measures of treatment fidelity.
