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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Sep 18.
Published in final edited form as: Med Clin North Am. 2018 Jul;102(4):587–601. doi: 10.1016/j.mcna.2018.03.001

Table 3.

Readiness for addiction treatment and questions to ask in the addiction history

Readiness for Addiction Treatment Questions to Ask in the Addiction History
Previous addiction treatment • Have you previously received any addiction treatment? This may include detox, medications, support groups, or recovery homes.
• If so, what types of treatment have you previously tried and approximately how many times?
• How long ago was your last addiction treatment and what kind of treatment were you receiving?
Previous abstinence or reduced substance use • Have you ever previously been able to cut down your substance use or stop all together?
• If so, how many times? How did you achieve this and what was your longest period of abstinence or reduced substance use?
• Was any or some of this time during a period of incarceration or other forced abstinence?
Relapse history • If you have had periods of abstinence or reduced substance use previously, what caused you to relapse? Can you identify any potential triggers?
Current goals for treatment • What are your current treatment goals (eg, total abstinence vs reduction in substance use vs harm reduction)?