Addiction Medicine & Psychosocial Interventions

CAMH and St. Michael’s Hospital are excited to bring to you ECHO Ontario Addiction Medicine and Psychosocial Interventions (AMPI). ECHO AMPI aims to help healthcare providers build capacity in the treatment and management of addictions. The project works to empower healthcare providers to use evidence-based best practices to reduce the need for specialist visits, improving the quality of care for patients seeking treatment for addictions and related disorders in Ontario’s primary care settings. The ECHO AMPI curriculum is based on analysis of multiple needs assessments conducted with provincial primary care providers. 

Starting in Spring 2020, the ECHO AMPI curriculum will be delivered through three eight-session modules, rather than through the original 24-session program. Module 1: Engaging Individuals in Evidence-Based Care will focus on strategies to engage patients in clinical care to address their substance use. Topics covered will reflect a spectrum of approaches, including harm reduction, motivational interviewing and behavioural interventions. Pharmacotherapies and concurrent disorders will be explored during the case discussions.   

The second and third modules will be available in Fall 2020 and Winter 2021, and will cover further components of the large breadth of approaches to working with people who use substances. Topics in future modules of ECHO AMPI will include substance-specific sessions, psychiatric comorbidities, and advanced topics.