Substance Misuse Among Older Adults

By Lisa Frederiksen |

Substance misuse among older adults – whether that be alcohol abuse, drug abuse, alcoholism or addiction – is a bigger problem than most people think. And if they’re struggling, so are their family members, friends, and care givers struggling with how to help them.

Help for Seniors With a Substance Abuse Problem and Their Families

SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) has created several products to help seniors and their caregivers, family members, and friends better understand the extent of the problem, how to identify it, and what to do about it. Below you will find descriptions and easy click access to a four of them.

 Get Connected! Toolkit (Linking Older Adults With Medication, Alcohol, and Mental Health Resources)Helps service providers for the aging learn more about alcohol and medication misuse and mental health problems in older adults to address these issues more effectively. Provides tools such as a program coordinator’s guide, suggested curricula, and handouts.
Aging, Medicines, and Alcohol (Based on TIP 26, Substance Abuse Among Older Adults)Designed to increase awareness among older adult consumers about possible problems related to the misuse of alcohol, prescription drugs, and over-the-counter drugs. Lists signs of misuse and suggests actions older adults can take to avoid or deal with problems.
Substance Abuse Relapse Prevention for Older Adults: A Group Treatment ApproachProvides substance abuse counselors and treatment providers with background and how-to guidelines for introducing relapse prevention to older adults. Presents nine group therapy modules involving cognitive behavioral therapy and self-management intervention.
Alcohol Use Among Older Adults: Pocket Screening Instruments for Health Care and Social Service ProvidersProvides two screening tools for use with older adults: the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test–Consumption brief screening tool and the Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test, Geriatric Version. One pocket-sized questionnaire is for primary care physicians, and the other can be used by nonmedical professionals.



Lisa Frederiksen

Lisa Frederiksen

Author | Speaker | Consultant | Founder at BreakingTheCycles.com
Lisa Frederiksen is the author of hundreds of articles and 12 books, including her latest, "10th Anniversary Edition If You Loved Me, You'd Stop! What you really need to know when your loved one drinks too much,” and "Loved One In Treatment? Now What!” She is a national keynote speaker with over 30 years speaking experience, consultant and founder of BreakingTheCycles.com. Lisa has spent the last 19+ years studying and simplifying breakthrough research on the brain, substance use and other mental health disorders, secondhand drinking, toxic stress, trauma/ACEs and related topics.
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Posted in Help for Families | Secondhand Drinking | Codependency, Prevention | Intervention

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