Examining Methamphetamine Addiction Treatment Approaches

After completing this course, health professionals will be able to:

1. Describe the current epidemic of methamphetamine abuse including its multi-layered impact: the health of the individual meth user, harm to unborn children, risk for family members, and cost to society.

2. Identify the cluster of biopsychosocial symptoms associated with acute vs. chronic meth use, as well as distinguish these patterns from those present in cocaine use.

3. Indicate 7 efficacious psychosocial and 6 pharmacological treatments targeting methamphetamine addiction, along with clinical considerations for optimizing treatment among 4 special subpopulations.

Methamphetamine is the most potent derivative of amphetamine, a powerful stimulant class of drugs. While amphetamines have a long history of use, the epidemic of methamphetamine abuse in the past decade is without parallel in the U.S. and has become a grave medical, public health, social service and criminal justice concern. Although no single pharmacological agent is effective in treating the primary condition, several behavioral and cognitive-behavioral strategies are effective in increasing abstinence and decreasing the craving and protracted withdrawal symptoms of methamphetamine addiction. This course presents valuable information for mental health professionals and allied healthcare workers about the epidemiology, assessment and diagnosis, and treatment of methamphetamine addiction, its short-and long-term addiction effects, and its unique characteristics in comparison to other substance abuse treatment protocols (i.e., cocaine).