Publications by authors named "Susan Merle Gordon"
Article Synopsis
- A survey was conducted on privately funded addiction treatment programs to better understand how they assess and treat patients with both substance use and eating disorders.
- Interviews were held with administrators from 345 private programs, revealing that most screened for eating disorders, but the tools used varied widely.
- Only 21% of these programs actively treat eating disorders, indicating a significant gap in training and resources for addiction professionals in this area.
Objective: Publicly funded addiction treatment programs were surveyed to increase understanding of treatment options for persons with co-occurring eating and substance use disorders.
Methods: Data were collected between 2002 and 2004 from face-to-face interviews with program directors of a nationally representative sample of 351 addiction treatment programs.
Results: Half of the programs screen patients for eating disorders; 29% admit all persons with eating disorders, and 48% admit persons with eating disorders of low severity.
Estimates of co-morbidity of SUD and ADHD in addiction treatment settings range from 30% to 50%. The Schedule II psychostimulant medications, methylphenidate and dextroamphetamine, generally considered to be safe and effective in treating ADHD in adolescent patients, may be risky for an SUD population since individuals with SUD may have a higher likelihood of abusing or diverting the medications. One hundred sixty-two adolescent patients admitted to a residential addictions treatment program were administered a structured interview concerning ADHD and psychostimulant abuse as part of the clinical psychological evaluation administered by the staff psychologist.
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