Psychosocial Treatment Methods

Abstract

Abstract Psychosocial treatments for opioid use disorder represent an important component of the opioid treatment infrastructure. This chapter briefly reviews the early history of psychosocial treatment of OUD in the United States to place the more recent history of empirical research into an appropriate context. It reviews the most common psychosocial interventions, categorized into atheoretical (e.g., peer support or mutual help groups) and theoretically driven strategies (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy, relapse prevention, motivational interviewing, behavior therapy, and mindfulness-based therapy) before describing the current state of OUD treatment from both a research and clinical perspective. Finally, several gaps in the field will be discussed, as well as recommendations to address them.