How to Coach Yourself and Others Empowering Coaching And Crisis Interventions | Page 189

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parasuicidal behaviors, previous or current threats, history of interpersonal violence or sexual abuse, and overall
feeling of safety; review family history of mental illness; and discuss evidence and history of personal strengths
and coping strategies and styles.
Interpersonal and Family History: Obtain history of substance abuse in current relationship, explore acceptance
of client’s substance abuse problem among family and significant relationships, discuss concerns regarding
child care needs, and discuss the types of support that she has received from her family and/or significant other
for entering treatment and abstaining from substances.
Family, Parenting, and Caregiver History: Discuss the various caregiver roles she may play, review parenting
history and current living circumstances.
Children’s Developmental and Educational History (applicable to women and children programs): Assess child
safety issues; explore developmental, emotional, and medical needs of children.
Sociocultural History: Evaluate client’s social support system, including the level of acceptance of her recovery;
discuss level of social isolation prior to treatment; discuss the role of her cultural beliefs pertaining to her
substance use and recovery process; explore the specific cultural attitudes toward women and substance abuse;
review current spiritual practices (if any); discuss current acculturation conflicts and stressors; and explore need
or preference for bilingual or monolingual non-English services.
Vocational, Educational, and Military History: If employed, discuss the level of support that the client is
receiving from her employer; review military history, then expand questions to include history of traumatic
events and violence during employment and history of substance abuse in the military; assess financial selfreliance.
Legal History: Discuss history of custody and current involvement with child protective services, if any; obtain
a history of restraining orders, arrests, or periods of incarceration, if any; determine history of child placement
with women who acknowledge past or current incarceration.
Barriers to Treatment and Related Services: Explore financial, housing, health insurance, child care, case
management, and transportation needs; discuss other potential obstacles the client foresees.
Strengths and Coping Strategies: Discuss the challenges that the client has faced throughout her life and how
she has managed them, review prior attempts to quit substance use and identify strategies that did work at the
time, identify other successes in making changes in other areas of her life.
Assessment Tools for Substance Use Disorders
Addiction Severity Index (ASI): The ASI (McLellan et al. 1980) is the most widely used substance abuse
assessment instrument in both research and clinical settings. It is administered as a semi-structured interview
and gathers information in seven domains (i.e., drug use, alcohol use, family/social, employment/finances,
medical, psychiatric, and legal). The ASI has demonstrated high levels of reliability and validity across genders,
races/ethnicities, types of substance addiction, and treatment settings (McCusker et al. 1994; McLellan et al.
1985; Zanis et al. 1994; SeeAppendix C for specific information on the ASI).
ASI-F (CSAT 1997c): The ASI-F is an expanded version of ASI; several items were added relevant to the
family, social relationships, and psychiatric sections. Additional items refer to homelessness; sexual harassment;
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