Integrating psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy to improve drug abuse outcomes

The two major forms of treatment for drug abuse, psychosocial treatments and pharmacologic treatments, have a number of differences in terms of their mode of action, time to effect, target symptoms, durability, and applicability across drugs of abuse. While each has specific indications and strengths, no psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy is universally effective, and both forms of treatment have some limitations, particularly when used alone. Several recent examples of the benefits of combined treatments for drug abusers are reviewed. These suggest that for many substance use disorders, outcomes can be broadened, enhanced, and extended by combining our most effective forms of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy.