Treatment for Stimulant Use Disorders- Best Practice Guidelines (11 credit hours)

Program Summary:   This course explores recent research on stimulant use disorders along with best treatment practices. The course examines how cocaine, methamphetamine, and prescription stimulants affect neurobiology, the brain, and behavior.  Common medical and psychological complications are discussed.  The course describes the best supported treatment approaches; contingency management is highlighted as the primary psychosocial treatment for stimulant disorders.  Strategies for supporting patients in treatment and recovery are given.

This course is recommended for social workers and counselors and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.  

“Book  Open the Course Reading Here.

Course Reading:  Treatment for Stimulant Use Disorders Chapters 1-5

Publisher:  SAMHSA

Course Objectives:  To enhance professional practice, values, skills and knowledge by exploring best treatment practices for stimulant use disorders.

Learning Objectives:  Describe how stimulants affect the brain and behavior.  Identify best treatment practices for stimulant use disorders.  Describe strategies for supporting patients in treatment and recovery.

Review our pre-reading study guide.

This course includes 64 test questions.  Your computer must be configured to accept cookies to save your answers if you log-out.  

Course Available Until: October 31, 2026.

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1: Chapter 1: Referring to Exhibit 1.1, drug diversion is the distribution or use of prescription drugs for purposes
 
 
2: Stimulant-involved overdose deaths in the United States have __________ over the past 20 years.
 
 
 
3: The treatment dropout rate is _________ for MA.
 
 
 
 
4: Stimulant medication is FDA approved for treating
 
 
 
 
5: Chapter 2: A simple way of thinking about SUDs is that having an SUD is like driving a car without
 
 
 
 
6: The most widely accepted term for the combination of factors and processes contributing to the development of an SUD is
 
 
 
 
7: The motivation to use a substance to avoid discomfort is an example of
 
 
8: Which of the following is an example of a cue for substance use?
 
 
 
 
 
9: Small neutral molecules like those of cocaine and MA easily pass through the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain.
 
 
10: If a person has ADHD and takes a prescription stimulant, the medication is provided at a dose that increases dopamine to a level that
 
 
 
11: The use of stimulants ___________ the amount of available dopamine in the brain.
 
 
12: In small and measured doses, stimulants may serve a clinical purpose to
 
 
 
 
13: Fentanyl is rapid acting and can induce fatal respiratory depression in as little as
 
 
 
 
14: Which has the longer half-life?
 
 
15: The effects experienced during the initial period of cocaine use are generally mood altering in a
 
 
16: With continued escalating use of cocaine, the individual becomes progressively tolerant to the _________ effects.
 
 
17: MA withdrawal is like that of cocaine, but because of the _________ effects of MA, withdrawal may be ___________ intense and protracted.
 
 
 
 
18: Psychotic symptoms from chronic use of MA may sometimes persist for as long as
 
 
 
 
19: Stimulant medications exert their effect in much the same way that cocaine and MA do- by __________ levels of dopamine in the brain.
 
 
20: Prescription stimulants are prescribed in such a way that, when taken appropriately, they produce ___________ increases in dopamine.
 
 
21: SBIRT intervention may be helpful for
 
 
22: Before a differential diagnosis of coexisting mental disorder can be made, the patient must be abstinent for at least ____________ following cessation of withdrawal or severe intoxication.
 
 
 
 
23: Chapter 3: Routes that facilitate more rapid drug delivery are __________ strongly linked to addiction and worse severity of addiction.
 
 
24: Which route of cocaine or MA is more strongly linked to addiction?
 
 
 
 
25: People using stimulants may often change their __________ to achieve the desired effect.
 
 
 
 
26: A growing trend of adulterating cocaine with fentanyl and fentanyl derivatives underscores the importance of providing people who use stimulants access to and education about _________(the opioid overdose reversal drug).
 
 
 
 
27: During which stimulant use phase is almost all activity directed to acquiring the drug and consuming it?
 
 
 
28: A binge terminates with acute withdrawal often called
 
 
 
 
29: During the withdrawal stage sometimes referred to as 'the ________ cloud,' patients enter a euphoric state.
 
 
 
 
30: Which is considered more hazardous because of its sustained effects?
 
 
31: Overdose is more likely to occur when
 
 
32: People are at ____________ risk for overdose when they enter treatment and stop using a substance.
 
 
33: The greatest risk during stimulant withdrawal is of doing harm to self.
 
 
34: Using Exhibit 3.7, continually claiming to have lost one's prescription is a distinctive indicator of chronic misuse of __________.
 
 
 
35: Stimulant-induced psychosis is seen more frequently with
 
 
36: The prevalence of psychosis induced by prescription stimulants is ___________.
 
 
37: Stimulant-induced psychosis and primary psychosis are
 
 
38: Patients with stimulant use disorder and any co-occurring psychiatric illness or symptoms should
 
 
39: Chapter 4: Abstinence is the only goal for people with stimulant use disorders.
 
 
40: Which of the following is an example of a harm reduction strategy?
 
 
 
 
41: When considered collectively, __________ interventions have by far the greatest amount of empirical support for their efficacy in promoting therapeutic behavioral change among people with stimulant use.
 
 
 
 
42: Chapter 5: Admission interviews with people who use stimulants may reveal that they are seeking treatment mainly because this use has resulted in
 
 
 
 
43: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs states that individuals must first meet their
 
 
 
 
44: Ambivalence is
 
 
 
 
45: Access to SUD care improves when there is ___________ flexibility in responding to all kinds of treatment inquiries.
 
 
46: The ethical, best practices approach to SUD treatment respects patients' ____________ by providing them with options and encouraging their collaboration on the treatment approaches and strategies that are the most acceptable to and promising for them.
 
 
 
 
47: Fighting resistance to change or treatment
 
 
 
 
48: Treatment plans should include SMART goals:  Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and
 
 
 
 
49: During the initial weeks of treatment, patients may
 
 
 
 
 
50: Which of the following helps to deter individuals with stimulant use disorder from spending a lot of time alone or having big blocks of time without planned activities?
 
 
 
 
51: Psychiatric comorbidity in patients using stimulants is __________ and should be reassessed throughout the continuum of care.
 
 
52: The dropout rate of people in treatment for stimulant use disorders is
 
 
53: The first few weeks of treatment can be considered successful if individuals
 
 
54: Achieving abstinence becomes the focus of treatment engagement
 
 
 
 
55: Initiating abstinence from stimulant use
 
 
56: Using another substance ___________ the likelihood of recurrent use of the primary substance and treatment nonparticipation.
 
 
57: Clinical observations show that significant biologic and psychological symptoms continue to hamper functioning 90 to 120 days after discontinuation of stimulant use, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as
 
 
 
 
58: Stimulant use may become strongly associated with certain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
59: When enlisting family participation in treatment, families may benefit more from
 
 
 
 
60: Clinicians should screen for ______________ before initiating relationship counseling.
 
 
 
 
61: Early slips should be considered
 
 
62: _________ is a more effective way of shaping behavior.
 
 
63: Remembering only the pleasures associated with stimulant use and not the adverse consequences is an example of
 
 
 
 
64: Vigorous physical exercise helps patients
 
 
 
 

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G.M. Rydberg-Cox, MSW, LSCSW is the Continuing Education Director at Free State Social Work and responsible for the development of this course.  She received her Masters of Social Work in 1996 from the Jane Addams School of Social Work at the University of Illinois-Chicago and she has over 20 years of experience.  She has lived and worked as a social worker in Chicago, Boston, and Kansas City. She has practiced for many years in the area of hospital/medical social work.  The reading materials for this course were developed by another organization.

Course Available Until: October 31, 2026.
Filed under: Addiction, Clinical