Illness Management and Recovery / IMR-A13-1
Substance Use and Mental Health — Concept brief
Understand the idea behind substance use and mental health and consider whether it fits your context.
8 minutes · Handout · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: Casey notices difficulty remembering routines after some evenings and wants a nonjudgmental discussion.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. IMR-informed planning can address substance use and mental health together.
The idea
IMR-informed planning can address substance use and mental health together.
An ordinary example
Casey notices difficulty remembering routines after some evenings and wants a nonjudgmental discussion.
What this can look like
Map how a substance-use pattern and mental health concerns may interact, labeling uncertainty and questions for the team.
Check the fit
What should be explored without jumping to a causal conclusion? You may disagree with the framing, use fiction, or decide that this approach is not useful today.
A useful distinction
A personal recovery goal and a symptom-management strategy serve related but different purposes; the person defines what a meaningful life includes.
Prompts for this resource
- What part of this idea makes sense to me?
- What should be explored without jumping to a causal conclusion?
Conceptual background
Illness Management and Recovery Evidence-Based Practices KIT — SAMHSA
Background on the approach only. Original exercises and wording are by More Than Therapy with AI assistance; the source does not validate or endorse these materials.