Publications

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can have lasting effects on health, behaviors, and life potential. Several states and local jurisdictions are improving services to support children, families, and young adults with high number of ACEs. Learn more about ACEs and the innovative work being done to improve outcomes for those at-risk.

Back to Basics: Foundations of Self-Care for Everyone

If someone you love is struggling with addiction, don’t let self-care slide. Read Dr. DuPont's blog on the 5 things you can do to improve your overall health and wellness

How Do You Really Keep Your Kids Safe from Addiction?

This toolkit was created to translate the science of prevention into strategies parents can incorporate into busy lives to help build a strong foundation of health and wellness for their children. The digital toolkit includes “10 Things Parents Can Do,” “The Disease of Addiction,” and “Risk and Protective Factors,” “10 Things Parents Can Do”, “Signs and Symptoms”, and further reading and resources.

Overdose Awareness

This toolkit contains training videos on how to recognize and respond to an overdose, information about how to administer naloxone, harm reduction education, resources and further reading. This resource is open source, and we encourage you to share it with your communities and loved ones who could benefit from this information.

Prescription Drug Safety and Disposal

One important step we can all take to help address addiction is to safely dispose of old and unused prescription medication. Prescription medication can be extremely dangerous if they fall into the wrong hands. It takes mere moments to safely dispose of old medications, but this precaution can have a lifelong impact.

What is Addiction?

This publication combines a series of our top resource to give a comprehensive introduction to addiction, including information about the brain science of addiction as well as statistics about the number of people affected in the United States.

Video Projects by Addiction Policy Forum

Our videos translate the science of addiction into stories that stick. Each video is developed in collaboration with scientists and our amazing network of patients and families, and all are free and open source.

Fact Sheets

Addiction & the Brain

Alcohol and drug use can affect important areas of the brain that control motivation, impulse control, reaction to stress, memory, and decision-making, and can eventually lead to the compulsive substance-seeking and use that is central to the experience of substance use disorders (SUDs).

Addiction & the Brain For Kids

Need help explaining addiction to your kids? This kid-friendly sheet explains the science of how addiction affects the brain in simple terms using graphics from our Addiction & the Brain video. It highlights the importance of educating kids about prevention.

The ADDICTION Series

This resource aims to expand public understanding about addiction and replace the myths and misinformation that keep substance use disorders (SUDs) from being treated like any other medical condition.

What is Prevention?

This resource explains the nuts & bolts of evidence-based prevention and seeks to empower everyone to play a role—at home, at school, and throughout our communities.

Signs and Symptoms

If your loved one starts behaving differently for no apparent reason—such as acting withdrawn, frequently tired or depressed, or hostile—it could be a sign he or she is struggling with a substance use disorder (SUD).

Facts and Figures

Did you know that 1 in 7 people will struggle with substance use during their life? Or that over 20 million Americans suffer from substance use disorders? This resource provides 8 basic facts you need to know about the impact of substance use disorders in the U.S.

Overdose Facts & Figures

In 2017, overdoses involving opioids killed an estimated 47,600 people in the U.S. This resource gives you the latest facts and figures about opioid overdoses in the U.S.

How to Use Naloxone

Naloxone is an antidote for opioids, meaning it can reverse an overdose. This information card instructs on how to recognize the signs of an overdose and administer naloxone if needed.

What is Naloxone

Naloxone is a safe medication that can reverse opioid overdoses. This information card provides information on the FDA-approved forms of naloxone and how to find it near you.

Caring for Someone After an Overdose

It is important to be prepared when providing care for someone who has just suffered an overdose. This information card provides facts about overdose and instructions on how to best handle the situation.

How Naloxone Works

Naloxone works to reverse overdoses caused by opioids. This information card explains the brain science behind this process.

Preventing an Overdose

Anyone taking an opioid, even if it is prescribed by a doctor, can experience an overdose. Therefore, it is important to be educated about how to prevent an overdose. The C.A.R.E. model explains how to responsibly take opioids in order to stay safe and empowered.

What are Opioids?

There are many different types of opioids, including prescribed pain relievers and illicit drugs. Opioid use can lead to dependence and addiction, so it is important to be aware of their possible side effects.

Patient Education

Medications to Treat Addiction

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is the use of medications in combination with behavioral counseling to treat substance use disorders. There are FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and tobacco use disorder.

What Should I Look for in a Treatment Program

What Should You Look for in a Treatment Program?

There are a wide variety of evidence-based approaches for treating a substance use disorder, including behavioral therapies and medications. Treatment plans should be tailored to the unique needs of the patient by their care provider and will vary depending on the types of substances used, any co-occurring health conditions, and the severity of their illness.

Relapse Reflection & Prevention Worksheet

While relapse is not uncommon in the process of recovering from addiction, it can be dangerous and all measures should be taken to prevent future relapses from happening. Here are some questions that can help you learn about your own triggers and make a plan to help you avoid high-risk situations in the future.