Substance abuse continues to be a growing concern in America with more efforts to improve the overall quality of treatment for Substance Use Disorders (SUDs). A history of trauma experiences significantly increased the likelihood of an individual turning to substances to cope. However, psychological abuse remains understudied with its relation to…

Several challenges exist in the implementation of integrated care given that SUD/Addiction treatment has historically been segregated from the broader health care system (Office of the Surgeon General, 2016). One expression of the gap that persists is that for counselors who want to administer SUD/Addiction and mental health counseling, or…

Addiction has been conceptualized in various ways throughout history, leading to ongoing debates about its definition and the most effective approaches to treatment. While healthcare professionals and paraprofessionals have long been involved in addiction treatment, there remains a lack of consensus on the best practices for addressing addiction…

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA, 2015) more than one in three college students binge drinks, one in five uses an illicit substance, and one in seven meets the clinical criteria of having a substance abuse disorder. These surveys do not include items to determine if respondents are in recovery;…

College-age students represent a significant portion of the U.S. population dealing with the ravages of our nation's growing addiction crisis. One challenge associated with substance use disorder that is often overlooked is the impact of addiction self-stigma on the lives of those that struggle with substance abuse issues. One way that colleges…

Academic coaching is a remedial method to assist undergraduate students experiencing academic difficulties due to counterproductive behavioral patterns related to their academic skills and habits. Developing academic skills and changing academic habits requires a student's willingness to address engrained behaviors that have developed over many…

Mental illnesses are often deemed low in health priority despite their large burden of disease. Because many chronic mental illnesses have early onset, youth present a high-risk cohort for disproportionate health burden. Stigma and literacy are two potential barriers to care, so pre-K to 12 schools offer an efficient platform for disseminating…

The prevalence of substance use among adolescents warrants considerable concern since it often has detrimental effects on an individual's physical and mental health, and correlates with worsened social, physical, and employment outcomes. Research shows that adolescents with disabilities are especially susceptible to the development of substance…

College students who do not successfully complete undergraduate studies by obtaining bachelor's degrees have much lower average lifetime earnings than college students who do obtain bachelor's degrees. Research suggests that one of the primary reasons for students dropping out or flunking out of undergraduate school is excessive substance use.…

There is a great deal of literature to suggest that experiencing traumatic events in childhood often leads to problematic outcomes in adulthood. Not all individuals who experience such trauma, however, arrive at the same end point. The concept of resilience has been promoted as one of the ways in which individuals experiencing similar life events…

Though there are at least 12.4 million community college students, accounting for 44% of all undergraduates within the United States (Cohen & Brawer, 2008), little academic research has explored the mental health needs of community college students as a distinct population ( Floyd, 2003; Townsend & LaPaglia, 2000; Townsend, Donaldson,…

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse reported that 35 percent of middle school students and 45 percent of high school students say that there are students who are affiliated with gangs or who consider themselves to be affiliated with gangs in their schools (Arciaga, Sakamoto, & Jones, 2010). Gangs are increasingly violent and…