What to Expect from a Drug and Alcohol Assessment

Approximately 40.3% of American adults (12+) in 2020 suffered from substance use disorder (SUD), with 28.3% dealing with alcoholism and 18.4% with illicit drug abuse (DUD). Substance abuse can destroy your life and your health, not to mention the well-being of your family, if not treated with proper intervention.

The Alcohol and Drug Evaluations The Diversion Center provides are legally mandated assessments of people charged with a drug or alcohol crime. Do you or a loved one have a drug and alcohol assessment coming up? Here’s everything you should know, including what to expect.

What’s Drug and Alcohol Assessment?

A drug and alcohol assessment is a helpful tool that can help you better understand your situation and the challenges you may face in the future. The assessment is an opportunity to talk about your drug or alcohol use and how it’s impacting your life. It can also be a way to develop an action plan that will help you move forward in positive ways.

The assessment process involves meeting with a counselor or therapist who will guide you. The assessment itself usually takes 60-90 minutes.

Screening

It’s a short conversation with a counselor to ask questions about your drug use and alcohol consumption. Screening ensures you’re ready for treatment and what’s appropriate for your situation.

During the screening, they can use the following techniques:

• The CAGE questionnaire can accurately assess a person’s risk for substance abuse with four questions. It stresses the importance of being forthright in your responses.
• Self-administered Alcohol Use Inventory is a tool for determining whether or not a person has an alcohol use disorder. The AUD is helpful because it acknowledges that people have different perceptions of the risks, outcomes, and lifestyle options associated with alcohol consumption.
• Subtle Screening for Substance Abuse Inventory: The administration and the SASSI scoring are simple. These aids determine if the person’s drug or alcohol use goes beyond casual experimentation. It helps gauge the user’s seriousness and openness to self-reflection and improvement.

Assessment

During the assessment process, you will meet with a practitioner who will ask questions. The assessment aims to help the practitioner better understand how substance use has affected your life so he can develop an individualized treatment plan to meet your recovery goals.

They assess through:

• The diagnostic interview. It entails a professional conversation between you and your treatment provider. During the interview, you will discuss your substance use history and any problems arising. Your treatment provider will ask questions about your substance use and its effects on your life. They may ask you about other mental health symptoms you may have experienced, such as depression or anxiety.
• Structured interview. It’s a predetermined series of questions designed to facilitate the gathering of standard data on substance abuse.
• Semi-structured interview. Someone highly experienced in the field of addiction conducts a semi-structured interview. They will ask in-depth questions beyond those in a structured interview, with the interviewer drawing on their own experience and knowledge to provide context. It facilitates more effective cross-examination of the person regarding their substance abuse problems.

Referral Services

If you are struggling with substance use, they offer referral services to help you find the best treatment program for your situation. They’ve seen what works and what doesn’t, so we can help you find a treatment program that will suit your needs. 

The assessment center will provide referrals to community resources such as Alcoholics Anonymous meetings or support groups like Narcotics Anonymous meetings where people can go for more information about living soberly after treatment programs end. They’ll refer you to a program that can accommodate those needs. They also offer referrals to programs that work with your schedule, whether during the day or at night.

Substance Abuse Questions Asked?

The substance abuse questions include:

• If you compare when you started drinking, can you consume greater quantities of alcohol or drugs without experiencing the effects?
• Have you lost focus on ambition as a result of your substance abuse?
• Have you ever experienced shakiness or tremors after heavy drinking, drug use, or abstaining from such activities?
• Have you received advice to either abstain from substances or significantly reduce your consumption?
• In what ways do you think your drug or alcohol use has damaged your reputation?
• Have you ever promised to limit using drugs or alcohol and then failed to follow through?
• Have your drug or alcohol habits ever gotten you into trouble with the law, in your personal life, or both?
• Have drugs or alcohol ever caused you to be late to work?

Drug and alcohol assessments offer you a safe, confidential space to work through your addiction issues and gain better insight into yourself. From there, you will better understand how to move forward to maintain your sobriety lifestyle.