APA calls for ‘whole‐person’ approach to solve opioid epidemic

Abstract

Solving the opioid epidemic requires a “whole‐person” approach that includes nonpharmacological treatment for pain, as well as ensuring that people have the employment, education and housing supports they need for long‐term recovery, the CEO of the American Psychological Association (APA) told a congressional panel, a June 18 press release stated. “Research shows that the most effective treatment of opioid use disorder requires psychosocial interventions in combination with medications,” APA CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr., Ph.D., said in prepared remarks to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. “The three forms of treatment with the strongest evidence base for use in treating opioid use disorders are contingency management, cognitive behavioral therapy and multidimensional family therapy.” Speaking in support of the Comprehensive Addiction Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, H.R. 2569, Evans noted the APA “strongly supports the use of medication‐assisted therapy drugs in treating opioid use disorder, and we support policies to ensure that the full range of such drug therapies are available to patients and their providers.… Psychologists have been at the forefront of the shift away from responding to pain as solely a physiological condition and toward an understanding of pain as a biopsychosocial phenomenon involving the biological, psychological and social aspects of the individual's health and functioning.”