ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the essential observational elements—the approaches and tools for diagnostics that are used in the 2 × 4 Model clinic. The 2 × 4 Model clinic binds together the most essential and routinely used measures from the mental health and addiction treatment traditions to form a Required & Routine Kit of Diagnostic Tools. The Addiction Psychiatry/Dual Diagnosis evaluation retains its importance as the cornerstone and gold standard of the diagnostic assessment in the 2 × 4 Model clinic. Addictions are unique across the spectrum of mental illnesses in that these disorders allow people to directly measure their activity—aside from the clinical interview—through objective testing of biologics from the body. The advent and expanded clinical use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Program databases has been one of the most significant advances in addiction prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in the past decade.
