The U.S. faces a critical crisis in behavioral health and addiction care. Overburdened emergency rooms and primary care offices struggle with lengthy wait times, while workforce shortages and systemic barriers disproportionately impact marginalized communities. This has resulted in the criminal justice system becoming a de facto provider of mental health and addiction services.
In 2024, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared a national epidemic of loneliness and isolation, exacerbated by the COVID-19 and opioid crises. His advisory underscores the importance of social connection, empathy, and belonging as vital components of well-being.
Despite the urgent need, stigma surrounding mental health and substance use disorders persists, hindering access to care. Historically, training programs have underemphasized addiction and behavioral health education across medical and behavioral health disciplines.
This book serves as a vital resource for interdisciplinary teams, highlighting the crucial role each profession plays in improving access to addiction and mental health care and reducing stigma. It advocates for a collaborative, relationship-centered approach, equipping clinicians and peers with the knowledge and skills to effectively address addiction and behavioral health within communities. Expertly written and reviewed, it offers up-to-date scientific and clinical information spanning a broad range of relevant topics.
Reducing the Stigma.- Voices of People In Recovery.- How to be a Member
of the Interdisciplinary Care Team: Dos and Donts.- Inclusion Health: How
Team-Based Care Enhances Office-Based Practice and Community Engagement for
People with Substance Use Disorders.- The Clinical Hand: How It Can Be
Applied in Primary Care to Treat Substance Use Disorders and Behavioral
Health.- Co-Creation and Innovation: Advancing Behavioral Health Equity
Through Community Based Participatory Research.- Harm Reduction and
Culturally Appropriate Approaches.- Evolving Structure of Opioid Treatment
Programs: The Journey to Liberating Methadone.- Palliative and End of Life
Care for People with Substance Use Disorder and Behavioral Health Care.-
Relationship Centered Practices in Co-Occurring Care: Person Centered Skills,
Motivational Interviewing, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.- What
Happened to You: Changing the Question in Trauma-Informed Care.-
Comprehensive Care for people with behavioral addictions and co-occurring
disorders.- The Role of Medications in Achieving and Maintaining Recovery.-
The Role of Recovery Peers in Substance Use Disorder and Behavioral Health
Treatment.- Understanding the Role of Nurse Case-Management to Improve
Engagement and Community Access to Care.- The Role of Primary Care in
Addiction and Behavioral Health Treatment.- The Role of Clinical
Supervision.- The Role of of Leisure and Recreation in Recovery from
Addictive Disorders.- The Role of Scholars in Advancing Substance Use
Disorder and Behavioral Health Treatment.- What is Working in Medical
Education: A Call to Action.- What is Working in Substance Use Disorder and
Behavioral Health Treatment: A Call to Action.- Ideation to Implementation:
Collaborative Care and the Current Payment System.- Workforce Development.-
How to Get The Skills You Need While in Clinical Practice.- Where this Leaves
Us: The Role of Connection and Relationships in Treating Substance Use
Disorders and Behavioral Health.
Angela Colistra, PhD, LPC, CAADC, CCS
Director of Behavioral Sciences
Associate Medical Director of Practice and Community Based Research Network
Department of Family Medicine
707 Hamilton Street, 8th Floor, Allentown, PA 18101
Assistant Professor Morsani College of Medicine
University of South Florida
