TPC Journal-Vol 10- Issue 3-FULL ISSUE

327 Scott W. Peters Case Formulation and Intervention: Application of the Five Ps Framework in Substance Use Counseling Scott W. Peters, PhD, LPC-S, is an associate professor at Texas A&M University – San Antonio. Correspondence may be addressed to Scott Peters, One University Way, San Antonio, TX 78224, scott.peters@tamusa.edu. The Professional Counselor™ Volume 10, Issue 3, Pages 327–336 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org © 2020 NBCC, Inc. and Affiliates doi:10.15241/swp.10.3.327 Substance use and misuse is exceedingly common and has numerous implications, both individual and societal, impacting millions of Americans directly and indirectly every year. Currently, there are a variety of empirically based interventions for treating clients who engage in substance use and misuse. The Five Ps is an idiographically based framework providing clinicians with a systematic and flexible means of addressing substance use and misuse that can be used in conjunction with standard substance use and misuse interventions. Additionally, its holistic and creative style provides opportunities to address concerns at various points with a variety of strategies and interventions that will best suit clients’ unique situations. It can assist both novice and experienced clinicians working with clients who present for counseling with substance use and misuse. Following a discussion of the Five Ps, a brief case illustration will demonstrate the framework. Keywords: substance use and misuse, Five Ps, idiographic, systematic, flexible Substance use and misuse in the United States is extremely common. For the year 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 18% of the U.S. population aged 12 and older had used illicit substances or misused prescription medications (CDC, 2018). The National Survey on Drug Use and Health asserted that close to 30% of respondents aged 12 and older reported use of illicit substances in the past month (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2017). Although these statistics are significant, it should be noted that “Most people who use abusable drugs, even most people who use them nonmedically, do so in a reasonably controlled fashion and without much harm to themselves or anyone else” (Kleiman et al., 2011, p. 2). In the context of this article, the word abusable indicates substances that when taken are pleasurable enough to result in excessive dosing or increased frequency of intake (Linden, 2011). However, there are others who use substances to such an extent that it causes significant distress and impairment in their lives, a phenomenon clinically referred to as a substance use disorder (SUD). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5 ) bases an SUD on a “pathological pattern related to the use of a substance” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 483). In his report on alcohol, drugs, and health, the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy reported that more than 20 million Americans have an SUD (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). Clients who engage in substance use and misuse can present with a variety of issues beyond use (Bahorik et al., 2017; Compton et al., 2014; Poorolajal et al., 2016). Thus, there exists a need to concurrently examine and address the potentially complex nature of client substance use and misuse. Implications of Substance Use and Misuse Substance use and misuse carries numerous potential repercussions. Societally, substance use and misuse consequences exceed “$400 billion in crime, health, and lost productivity” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016, p. 2). Published data on those incarcerated appears to be several