We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.
Counselor training and attitudes toward pharmacotherapies for opioid use disorder
Lydia Aletraris , Mary Bond Edmond , Maria Paino , Dail Fields , Paul M. Roman
Substance Abuse
Vol. 37, Iss. 1, 2016
Our study demonstrated that counselors held varying degrees of knowledge and opinions regarding the acceptability of buprenorphine and methadone, with 20% of counselors having insufficient knowledge about either medication. Even though counselors do not prescribe medications, their lack of knowledge regarding effectiveness is a significant barrier to the acceptance of these treatments in routine clinical practice. Acceptance was higher for buprenorphine and other medications used for opioid use disorder, than it was for methadone. The stigma facing opioid agonist medications, particularly methadone, suggests that they may be seen as less acceptable than other treatment approaches. Nevertheless, we found no significant differences between counselors’ ratings of buprenorphine and naltrexone. Our findings suggest that medication-specific training is an effective strategy for encouraging the acceptance and diffusion of opioid agonist medications.
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Our newly released issue is now online —> January-March 2016.
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