title: Help substance abusers attain and sustain abstinence.
abstract: Individuals struggling with substance abuse are more likely to present or return to a primary care provider who isn't an addiction specialist. These patients appear in primary care settings at various stages of readiness to change their behavior. Here we provide brief motivational interventions that can encourage a patient to enter treatment. We also detail how to recognize postabstinence symptoms that are present after acute withdrawal symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Health Service, Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Nina Maria
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Chychula
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sciamanna
mesh_terms: D001521:Behavior Therapy; D003376:Counseling; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*