Findings from JCOIN’s Indiana University School of Medicine Clinical Research Center

Ongoing training on evidence-based practices for substance use disorders (SUD) shows promise in increasing confidence among therapists in applying such services in community-based settings, according to recent study findings. In turn, dissemination and implementation initiatives that provide ongoing training could improve the delivery and availability of these critical services.

This study describes the Amplifying Community Capacity for Evidence-Supported Services (ACCESS) program, a 2-year statewide training initiative aimed at addressing gaps in the availability and accessibility of evidence-based treatments for substance use disorders (SUD) in community settings. Integrated motivational enhancement therapy (MET) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) was selected as evidence-based treatments to be implemented in the program based on strong support in the research literature for MET/CBT in addressing a broad range of SUDs in diverse clinical populations.

Ninety-three therapists participated in the training across two cohorts (Year 1 n = 65, Year 2 n = 28). Both cohorts were offered a multi-component training that consisted of a 2-day workshop on MET/CBT, bi-weekly group consultation with MET/CBT clinical experts, fidelity monitoring of MET/CBT clinical implementation, and guided readings and online resources. The authors found that therapists reported confidence in their ability to implement MET/CBT for SUD and demonstrated improvement in motivational interviewing (MI) and CBT knowledge.

This study was published in The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research and led by Drs. Matthew Aalsma, Zachary Adams, and Leslie Hulvershorn at the Indiana University School of Medicine and members of the JCOIN Indiana Clinical Research Center.

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Suggested Citation

Aalsma, M. C., Adams, Z. W., Smoker, M. P., Marriott, B. R., Ouyang, F., Meudt, E., & Hulvershorn, L. A. (2023). Evidence-based Treatment for Substance Use Disorders in Community Mental Health Centers: the ACCESS Program. The journal of behavioral health services & research, 50(3), 333–347. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-023-09833-8