A Semi-Structured Manualized Treatment Program (SSMTP) for Substance Abuse

Substance misuse constitutes a major public mental health problem that is intricately linked with the law and criminal behavior. Compared to the general population, the prevalence rate of substance misuse is remarkably high among individuals in the forensic psychiatry system and has negative ramifications if unaddressed. Serious consequences (e.g., mental status decompensation, violence, recidivism, elopement, readmission, inability to transition into the community, etc.) have been associated with substance misuse in forensic psychiatric populations. To mitigate the negative impacts of substance misuse, a semi-structured manualized treatment program (SSMTP) was developed for patients in our forensic psychiatry program (FPP). SSMTP is provided to eligible patients with addiction-related problems based on referral and a pre-enrolment screening process by trained addiction specialists. In this chapter, we describe the development and use of SSMTP using selected themes to provide an overview of the literature on substance misuse/use disorders in the forensic psychiatric population. These themes include the theoretical underpinning of SSMTP, the program structure and steps taken to adapt SSMTP to meet client needs, the implementation and evaluation of the program, and recommendations.