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Tools for Substance Abuse Counselors

Diagnosing alcoholism and drug addiction requires a much different set of tools than medical conditions like diabetes or heart disease. While most medical screenings have existing, standard protocols, substance abuse professionals have some discretion when deciding which assessment tools to use. Screening tools continue to evolve and provide a new level of assessment guidance.

  1. NMASSIST

    • Adapted from the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) created by the World Health Organization, the NMASSIST was developed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Substance abuse counselors use the NMASSIST as an assessment guide. By asking a list of screening questions and then evaluating the responses, clinicians arrive at an assessment score which indicates the treatment best suited for each patient. The NMASSIST is an online, interactive tool, but printed versions also exist. In addition to screening for drug and alcohol use, this guide also considers tobacco usage.

    Jellinek Chart

    • Studying the Jellinek Chart gives substance abuse counselors an idea of how the disease of alcoholism has progressed for each client. The chart is a visual representation of the stages of alcoholism and recovery. The top left side of the chart shows an individual's experimentation with drugs and alcohol and moves downward through job and relationship losses to death. Substance abuse counselors may also map the stages of a patient's recovery by moving up the right side of the chart. The Jellinek Chart provides a valuable resource for clinicians, but also for patients unfamiliar with the disease concept of alcoholism.

    CRAFFT Quiz

    • Designed specifically for adolescents, the CRAFFT Quiz offers a nonthreatening, kid-friendly approach to assessment. Substance abuse counselors give this screening tool as a self-quiz or offer the questions as an ice-breaker and quick overview of the patient's problem. Adolescents are asked about the concerns expressed by friends and parents over substance use, the frequency of use and the consequences received from school and parental rule-breaking. If the brief quiz suggests a problem, counselors may gently offer up other, lengthier screening tools.

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