A scale for assessing the stage of substance abuse treatment in persons with severe mental illness

Substance abuse is common among persons with severe mental illness, but few measures exist for clinicians to evaluate treatment progress. The Substance Abuse Treatment Scale (SATS) combines a motivational hierarchy with explicit substance use criteria to form an eight-stage model of the recovery process. Data are presented supporting the reliability and validity of the SATS, based on its use in a community-based sample of persons with dual disorders. The SATS can be used as either a process or an outcome measure, for individuals or for groups, and its value in making explicit the stages of substance abuse treatment is discussed.