Every day in the United States, an average of 130 people die from an opioid overdose, whether through the use of heroin, synthetic opioids like fentanyl or prescription drugs. Since the start of the opioid epidemic in the 1990s, an estimated 300,000 Americans have died of opioid overdoses, and the problem is not expected to abate anytime soon.
This is a crisis that demands the knowledge and skills from the breadth of our field. As experts in human behavior, psychologists are uniquely equipped to address this epidemic. In this issue's special report on stopping the opioid crisis, we showcase the ways psychologists are:
- Improving treatment with behavioral interventions. Working as part of treatment teams, psychologists are addressing the comorbid conditions that often accompany substance use, including pain, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Creating programs informed by an ecological perspective. Psychologists are designing programs that take a more comprehensive look at the needs of people with opioid use disorder, helping to support them at work, with housing and in their relationships.
- Teaching people to manage pain without medication. In their efforts to prevent opioid use disorder, clinical psychologists are employing cognitive-behavioral therapy and other evidence-based approaches to help patients cope with pain.
- Developing better screening tools. Psychologists' assessments are helping to determine which patients experiencing chronic pain are at higher risk for opioid misuse and should not be prescribed opioids.
- Advocating for changes to opioid policies and practices. Working at the federal, state and local levels, APA and individual psychologists are directly and indirectly impacting the opioid crisis through advocacy. Efforts include seeking greater funding for pain and opioid research, increasing the number of treatment providers by improving reimbursement rates, and changing prescribing practices, among other priorities.
I would like to take this opportunity to call attention to the outstanding work of an APA cross-divisional task force. Drawing upon expertise from multiple subfields of psychology, representatives from APA's Div. 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology), Div. 28 (Society for Psychopharmacology and Substance Use) and Div. 50 (Society of Addiction Psychology) developed The Opioid Guide: A Resource Guide for Practicing Psychologists. Read an overview of the guide in "Resources for psychologists".
As this month's special report shows, psychologists are making unique and essential contributions to address the opioid epidemic, one of the greatest health challenges facing our nation. We are not content to sit on the sidelines. Please join us as we work to have a major impact on this critical societal issue.
