SUD Keys to Education

Stimulants

SUD Keys to Education is a product for educators and clinical supervisors developed in 2022 by the Mountain Plains and Pacific Southwest Addiction Technology Transfer Centers (MPATTC and PSATTC).

The main developers of the SUD Keys are:

  • MPATTC, HHS Region 8: Cindy Juntenen, PhD, LP, Nancy Roget, MS, Trisha Dudkowski, BA, Kenneth Flanagan, PhD, Terra Hamblin, MA, Shannon McCarty, BS, Kim Miller, MS, Abby Roach-Moore, MSW, and Maridee Shogren, DNP
  • PSATTC, HHS Region 9: Thomas E. Freese, PhD, and Beth Rutkowski, MPH.

This product was developed to help community college/university faculty, as well as clinical supervisors and recovery support staff to have access to brief, science-based content with the goal of providing materials that can be easily infused into existing substance use disorder and related courses (e.g., social work, nursing, criminal justice, foundation of addiction courses, ethics, counseling courses, etc.) and for clinical and recovery staff use in in-service meetings. Individuals can select the specific content to infuse into existing curricula/materials depending on specific needs of their learners. Each slide in the slide decks contain notes to provide guidance on the topics along with references and handouts where appropriate. All of the stimulant-specific slide decks also have a video (MP4) of the content narrated by subject matter experts as an alternative way of presenting the materials.

Table of Contents

Stimulant Reference List

21-page reference list

Stimulants Mini-Deck #1: Stimulants – What Are We Talking About?

Five-slide presentation that focuses on the major category of central nervous system stimulants – cocaine and methamphetamine. The brief slide deck provides a description and images of each major stimulant and provides information on how cocaine and methamphetamine differ from one another.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #2: Stimulants and the Brain – What happens when things work normally?

Five-slide presentation that focuses on the brain areas affected by psychoactive substances in general, the major neurotransmitters involved in the development of a substance use disorder, a brief video that shows normal dopamine functioning, and findings from research studies that show the increase in dopamine in response to food and sex cues.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #3: Stimulants and the Brain – What happens when stimulants are added?

Four-slide presentation that focuses on how the brain responds to methamphetamine and cocaine and findings from research studies that examined the impact of alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, and methamphetamine on the brain.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #4: Acute and Chronic Effects of Stimulants on the Body, Part I

Five-slide presentation that focuses on the acute and chronic physical and psychological effects of stimulants.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #5: Acute and Chronic Effects of Stimulants on the Body, Part II

Four-slide presentation that focuses on the effects of chronic stimulant use and the increasing risk of overdose from both stimulants and opioids.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #6: Stimulants and Pregnancy

Three-slide presentation that focuses on the effects of stimulant use during pregnancy effects and additional effects of maternal use of methamphetamine.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #7: The Cognitive Impact of Stimulants

Four-slide presentation that focuses on the long-term cognitive impact of cocaine use, the impact of methamphetamine use on dopamine transporter activity and its impact on cognitive functioning, and cognitive deficits in methamphetamine use disorder, related to impulsive decision making and disinhibition

Stimulants Mini-Deck #8: Stimulants and Psychosis

Six-slide presentation that includes a brief video of how stimulant-induced psychosis presents itself, methamphetamine and psychosis, methamphetamine use and violence, symptoms of amphetamine-induced psychosis, and treatment of methamphetamine psychosis.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #9: Diagnostic Challenges

Five-slide presentation that focuses on a variety of diagnostic challenges associated with stimulant use.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #10: Healing from Stimulant Use Disorder, Part I, Client Perspectives

Two-slide presentation that provides a brief video clip that includes personal accounts of individual experiences of recovery from stimulant use disorder.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #10: Healing from Stimulant Use Disorder, Part II, Brain Healing and Services

Three-slide presentation that reviews findings from a research study that examined partial recovery of dopamine transporters following protracted abstinence from methamphetamine, and the importance of evidence-based solutions when working with people who use stimulants.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #11: Medical Interventions for Stimulant Use Disorder

Five-slide presentation that reviews the evidence (or lack thereof) related to medications for the treatment of stimulant use disorder, and medications that have been considered for methamphetamine and cocaine use disorder.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #12: Behavioral Interventions for Stimulant Use Disorder

Two-slide presentation that provides a brief overview of the behavioral treatments for stimulant use disorder with empirical evidence.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #13: Contingency Management, Part I

Six-slide presentation that provides a summary of a series of meta-analyses that have been conducted between 2007 and 2021 related to psychosocial and behavioral interventions for cocaine and methamphetamine use disorder. Findings consistently show that contingency management, and to a lesser extent, community reinforcement approach, is associated with reducing stimulant use and treatment drop-outs, greater drug adherence, higher utilization of other treatments and medical services, and reductions in risky sexual behaviors.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #14: Contingency Management, Part II

Six-slide presentation that provides an overview of the theory behind contingency management, the challenges associated with implementing contingency management in clinical settings, and contingency management recommendations for Safe Harbor requirements.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #15: Community Reinforcement Approach

Four-slide presentation that provides an overview of the theory behind community reinforcement approach (CRA), the components of CRA, and the research evidence for CRA.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #16: Other Behavioral Approaches for Treating Stimulant Use Disorder

Nine-slide presentation that provides an overview of other behavioral interventions with research support for treating stimulant use disorder, including cognitive behavioral therapy/relapse prevention, motivational interviewing, The Matrix Model, exercise, and mindfulness meditation.

Stimulants Mini-Deck #17: Recovery Supports for People Who Use Stimulants

Six-slide presentation that provides an overview of recovery supports for people who use stimulants, Recovery Care Organizations, and the importance of hope, community, and engagement.

Stimulants Sample Quiz/Test Question Bank with Answer Key

SUD Keys to Education

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