The SASSI Institute

A caller requested help interpreting the result of a SASSI-4 questionnaire on a male client who presented himself as having an opioid addiction. ‘Curtis’ is a 36-year-old married man. He and his wife have no children. He works as a landscaper which he describes as physically very demanding. His parents smoked marijuana while he was growing up and Curtis also smokes marijuana. His older brother died ten years ago, and Curtis is still grieving. His… Read more

In this season of Thanksgiving, I felt it appropriate to share some of the many things we at The SASSI Institute are thankful for. This past year has demonstrated our human potential and tenacities in so many ways. Despite the over five million worldwide deaths directly attributable to the COVID virus, our healthcare, teaching and service staff, and yes you, all of the treatment and human service professionals throughout the world have demonstrated that we… Read more

If you have attended one of our trainings either in-person or online, you know the section on how to administer the SASSI to a client is one of the most important. A thoughtful approach can set the tone for the entire assessment by helping a client feel more at ease and engaged in the treatment process. We emphasize the importance of first establishing rapport with the client. The questionnaire is presented as an aid, not… Read more

After screening, the assessment process is critical to effective addiction treatment. In fact, treatment can only be as effective as the thoroughness of the assessment process. The assessment process can and should result in clients’ reduced denial or “resistance” and easily transition into therapy. On December 7th and 8th, Dr. Don Osborne will be presenting a live webinar on Comprehensive & Advanced Assessment of Addiction That Parallels the ASAM Patient Placement Criteria. In this program you… Read more

Many of our SASSI trainers and other instructors have expressed a desire to get their boots back on the ground and start offering live in-person, hands on workshops again. While we have all been adapting to with what has become a new social norm of online training, webinars, and conference events, many have decided that they are ready to embrace in-person events again. If you have a group that you would like to discuss arranging… Read more

 ‘Reggie’ is a 37-year-old married man. He and his wife have two children. He works as a warehouse worker where he was recently injured in a shipping dock accident. He recently returned to work after being on worker’s comp for several months during which time he was prescribed opioids for his pain. He was sent to his employer’s EAP provider for evaluation after returning to work and struggling with coping with the continued pain and… Read more

Mr. M. is a 38-year-old Caucasian male, presenting to the DUI Court with a second DUI offense. His first offense occurred and he was sentenced to time served (1 day), one year probation, paid a $500 fine, and his driver’s license was suspended for 90 days. Mr. M.’s probationary period from his first offense ended successfully.    A year later, Mr. M. was arrested and entered into a no contest plea for drinking and driving under… Read more

We regularly get inquiries about the acceptability of reading the questionnaire to a client who may have difficulty with their reading skills. We discourage the evaluator from reading the questionnaire to the client for a variety of reasons, but the primary one concerns the validity of the results. No matter how careful the reader might be, the tone of voice or emphasis on a particular part of the question may lead the client in one… Read more

Last month, Dr. Hugh Marr, a longtime trainer on the SASSI and clinical psychologist in the private practice of psychotherapy in the Washington, DC area gave an interview on the Shrink Rap Radio podcast. Dr. Marr has taught both substance abuse counseling and psychotherapy at area universities; and has worked in all phases of community mental health, culminating in running a partial hospital program for clients with the co-occurring disorders of substance use and major… Read more

The SASSI-4 I am reviewing is interesting for what it is not. The client was instructed to complete the FVA/FVOD for the last 12 months.The client is a 34 year old male with a history of drug and alcohol use. He reports that two and a half years ago he successfully completed treatment. He stopped doing drugs but continues to consume alcohol. He was being evaluated by the order of the court for an “altercation… Read more

Please join us for this insightful live webinar presented by Dr. Donald Osborne. Following is a description of what will be discussed: Addiction is a Family DiseaseFamilies are systems of relationships with each member playing their part to maintain a homeostasis or equilibrium. This is true of addicted and dysfunctional families as well as healthy ones. Individual family members assume roles within the system. Families with an addicted member may point to the addict as… Read more

Dear Friends, For more than a year now, our lives have been literally turned upside down. Many of us have lost loved ones and friends or had them severely affected by this terrible pandemic. It has caused upheavals in basically all areas of our lives. But I think it is safe to say that we are finally turning the corner. Science tells us that the required herd immunities and vaccinations are soon to be at… Read more

The client, Carol, is a 43-year-old married female, a successful business woman and mother of two children. She recently was arrested and charged with her first DWI after leaving a business dinner with sales associates. This is the first significant consequence related to her drinking. She claims that she does not have a drinking problem; however, she characterizes her mother as an alcoholic. As we take a look at her scores, first notice that Carol… Read more

We are happy to announce the next in our line of Professional Development webinars: Foundational Story Psychotherapy: Understanding and Co-Changing Clients’ Stories (Part 1) presented by Dr. Hugh Marr. Below is additional information on this workshop: We humans are narrative creatures. Much of our communication, our cognition, our memory, and even our understanding of our self is storied. By late adolescence virtually all of us have developed a life story, a story that helps determine… Read more

Here at The SASSI Institute we pride ourselves on the work we do to provide validated instruments that help you, as well as your clients.  To do an even better job, we are asking for your feedback.  We want to know how our instruments support your work.  But we also want to hear how we can improve our tools.  Our new Feedback Form gives you an outlet to share your ideas and critiques.  Click here… Read more

The SASSI Institute is pleased to announce that we are launching a line of Professional Development webinars. We will be doing these in partnership with guest lecturers on topics that may be of interest to professionals in the addiction field. Our first such webinar is Comprehensive Screening & Advanced Assessment of Addiction presented by Dr. Don Osborne. Below is additional information on this workshop: The Screening and assessment processes are critical to effective addiction treatment.… Read more

Hello friends and colleagues, We hope you and your families are all doing well. We wanted to call your attention to our very latest peer reviewed publication, released earlier this month. The title is: Criminal Justice Alcohol and Drug Screening in Practice: Using the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory to Identify Substance Use Disorder in Offenders. Now in its fourth iteration (SASSI-4), this article discusses the SASSI screening tools’ utility with criminal offenders and reviews… Read more

I have had the pleasure of being on staff at The SASSI Institute for 22 years. Throughout that time, I have had the opportunity to work closely with many addiction professionals. Their dedication and passion for helping individuals in recovery or in need of recovery have always astonished me. One of these professionals whom I have known throughout my time at the Institute is Charlie Stookey, MA, LADC, LADC-S. Charlie was a trainer for the… Read more

Carlos C. is a 36-year-old Mexican-American male who’s Spanish SASSI results indicate that he has a high probability of having a substance use disorder based on “yes” answers to Rules 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 and because his FPOS score is 5 or less (FPOS=2). Validation studies indicate that 86% of the people who have substance use disorders are correctly classified by the Spanish SASSI based on the Decision Rule (High Probability) and the… Read more

We would like to take this opportunity to invite you, our many colleagues, to express your views, research findings and other developments within our SASSI Network blog. Our intent with this forum has always been to embrace the opinions and experiences of so many professionals and treatment providers throughout the country and indeed throughout the world. This forum is meant to be one of inclusion, not exclusion. All professionals from the multitude of addiction services… Read more

Happy New Year everyone! I received my first Adolescent A-3 call on the helpline and was so excited and when I heard the numbers, I knew exactly why the clinician was calling. As you look at the profile, you can see most of the numbers are within the norm. He meets Rule 6 so comes up with a High Probability of a Substance Use Disorder and no Prescription Drug Abuse.  So, what clinical information can… Read more

Addiction treatment today is largely ineffective. Some even call it a “rip-off” because of the cost for so little good that is achieved. It is like putting band aids on terrible wounds. There are five big reasons why it does so little good. (1) There is no nationally accepted definition of “addiction” or of “recovery”. As a result, treatment providers make up their own definitions, most of which do not even include abstinence as a… Read more

The SASSI Institute is pleased to announce the publication of its newest manuscript “Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Co-Morbidities Among Teens in Treatment: SASSI-A3 Correlations in Screening Scores.” Within this article, we review data from teenagers in treatment focusing on mental health diagnoses alongside a DSM-5 diagnosis of substance use disorder. Our hope is that by identifying possible correlations between SASSI-A3 scale scores and diagnosed mental health disorders, (depression and anxiety in particular), will… Read more

Bob is a 43-year old male who was referred by his attorney for a substance evaluation following a traffic fatality in which he was driving under the influence. Bob seems to have understood the items and responded in a meaningful way (RAP = 0). There is no significant evidence that Bob was defensive (DEF = 7). The most salient feature of the profile is the significantly elevated SAT score, which is a key feature in… Read more

This year has been unusual in so many respects. Our resolves, faiths, and tenacities have been tested for over ten months now. We have suffered losses and multiple pains, including emotional, mental and physical. We have endured an almost constant barraging drain on our senses. For over two straight weeks now we have experienced more than 100K daily COVID-19 cases nationally. As a result, many of us have lost loved ones, friends, or colleagues. Many… Read more

Wishing you all a big virtual Happy Holidays from all of us at The SASSI Institute! Read more

This sample case is based in part on SASSI-A3 scale scores that were called into our clinical help desk. The client, Josh (not his real name), is a 17-year-old male who was a senior in high school at the time of the assessment. Josh was referred to the school counselor after he was caught drinking beer on the school campus with some of his friends during a school-sponsored activity. Josh, an above-average student with no… Read more

Dear Friends, On Monday, November 9th,the CEO of Pfizer announced positive early results from its coronavirus vaccine trial, citing an over 90% effectiveness rate during its first phase of clinical trials. This is truly monumental news of worldwide significance. This fact has renewed hope throughout the country, indeed throughout the world, that we were finally coming closer to achieving a response to this deadly Pandemic. We at The SASSI Institute maintain our fervent hopes that… Read more

Angela T. illustrates a profile often seen in people who acknowledge that they use drugs excessively and have come to rely on them as a coping resource. Angela’s scores on the SASSI-4 meet the criteria for classifying her as having a high probability of a substance use disorder. Angela’s score on the Rx scale also indicates a high probability of prescription drug abuse. Reviewing her scale scores reveals openness in disclosing her use of drugs… Read more

It is with great pride that we announce the release of our latest adolescent research manuscript. This article is based on one key aspect of the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) Institute’s forthcoming third iteration of the Adolescent Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI-A3). While our primary goal was to develop a screening tool for adolescents that is concordant with the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) guidelines, we found… Read more

Our Team at the Institute has been working tirelessly on a two-year research project to bring you an updated adolescent instrument that is validated against the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria.  Our research has produced multiple publications and allowed the SASSI-A3 to include some new features, including a brief scale, Prescription Drug (Rx), to accurately identify teens likely to be abusing prescription medications. The updated version also includes new subtle items to reflect current teen alcohol and… Read more

This has been an interesting year hasn’t it? I’ve worked in the behavioral health field, primarily substance use disorder, since 1989. During those 31 years I’ve never come across the types of challenges I’ve seen this year, for those struggling with substance addiction and for those healthcare providers trying to help them. “Social isolation” is the new mantra in the culture and yet it is the very thing that is anathema to behavioral health counselors… Read more

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we will be reducing the free Clinical Helpline hours temporarily beginning Monday, October 5th. Clinical consultants will now be available Monday through Friday 11:00 am – 5:00 pm (EST). We will, of course, continue to closely monitor voice mail messages and return those as soon as possible. This change only applies to the clinical helpline. Our customer service remains available during normal business hours. Please contact us if you have… Read more

               We wanted to provide you some important SASSI updates. We’re excited to announce that the research findings on the adolescent SASSI-A3 have been published! Within the coming weeks and next few months, we will be concentrating our efforts on publishing the SASSI-A3 instrument, which similarly to the adult screening tool, now includes a prescription drug scale and greater sensitivity to opioids and prescription medications. The updated instrument will be available on our online platform… Read more

In 2002 I was in my second year as a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, when I was approached by Dr. Greg Luttrell, a faculty member in Civil Engineering, who wanted to study the effectiveness of the Fatal Vision goggles. Joined by my colleague Dr. Steve Hupp, I thought this would be a straightforward study. First, we needed to find a questionnaire that measured individual’s attitudes toward drinking… Read more

One of the trickier aspects of incorporating the SASSI results in a substance use assessment is extracting the clinical interpretation of what elevated scores mean and the relationship between the scales. If you have taken SASSI training, especially the Clinical Interpretation session, you were introduced to ‘Profile Configurations.’ This section gets more in-depth into interpreting the scales and clinically drawing on information that can better inform how to work with your client as well as… Read more

The Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) has been used successfully in correctional screening in multiple settings since its release. These include outpatient evaluations of offenders as well as assessments of incarcerated individuals in federal, state, and local correctional centers. Many clients served in behavioral health and substance abuse treatment programs have histories of involvement with the criminal justice system in addition to mental health and substance use disorders. Samples in the SASSI-4 validation study… Read more

Through the years, we have had the opportunity to share inspirational stories with our colleagues about their experience using the SASSI. One such story came recently from a psychologist who uses the SASSI in his practice. This was a gratifying story for us to hear and we are pleased that he has allowed us to share it with you. The mother of a 22-year-old woman called me because she felt very strongly that her daughter… Read more

In a previous post, we discussed how the COVID-19 crisis is affecting the substance use disorder field throughout the country. Unfortunately, last week showed a dramatic increase in the number of reported cases nationally, particularly towards the end of the week (more than 40,000 additional reported cases, mostly from the west coast and southwest). As a result, many colleagues that had reopened for business to provide clients with critically needed services, unfortunately, had to close… Read more

                We at The SASSI Institute wanted to update you on the COVID-19 crisis and how we see it affecting the substance use disorder field, not only here in southern Indiana, but also as reported from our many contacts throughout the country. The unfortunate reality is that many private practitioners, and even some long-standing programs, have had to furlough operations or sadly, cease operating altogether. We have lost many colleagues and personal friends to this… Read more

It is with a heavy heart that The SASSI Institute reports the passing of a dear friend and colleague, Mr. Stan DeKemper. Stan was not only a friend to the Recovery Field but also a personal and close friend of mine. Stan was the Executive Director of Indiana Credentialing Association on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (ICAADA). Our prayers and condolences go out to his family. Rest in Peace, old friend! Nelson Read the full press… Read more

The Importance of Additional Assessment Data The client is a 38-year-old male named Jim (not his real name), who was referred for a substance use evaluation following a second arrest for domestic violence. The practitioner calling in the profile reported having collateral evidence substantiating a significant history of alcohol abuse for this client. The SASSI results indicate that Jim has a low probability of having a substance use disorder. He is not acknowledging any significant… Read more

The SASSI Institute conducted a validation project on the accuracy of the adolescent SASSI substance use screening measure with respect to the most current nationally accepted diagnostic standards for substance use disorders, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders diagnostic criteria (DSM-5). We are delighted to report that our data analyses is complete and presently we are preparing our findings for peer review submission and subsequent publication and dissemination. Decision rules were formulated that would… Read more

The SASSI Institute takes the health and safety of our employees very seriously.  With the spread of COVID-19, the Company must remain vigilant in mitigating the outbreak.  We are committed to helping people who suffer from substance use problems and the professionals who serve them. In order to be safe as we reopen operations, we have developed this COVID-19 Exposure, Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Plan.  Of course, we will continue to monitor the related guidance… Read more

The SASSI Institute wishes to express our appreciation for those working in correctional settings, criminal justice and juvenile services. This is an unprecedented time for all, and especially hard for those working in correctional settings and their family members. Thank you for staying strong! We also send our condolences to the family and friends of those who have lost their life during this pandemic. Stay safe everyone. Read more

This SASSI-4 profile of a 37-year-old female was called in to our clinical support line. As we look at her results, it appears that she answered the items in a meaningful manner (RAP=0).  She is likely to have a high probability of a substance use disorder (SYM=6, SAM=8) based on decision rule 8. Notice that despite the relatively low DEF score and apparent lack of defensive responding, the SAM scale score, when combined with the… Read more

Stevie joined SASSI as a Customer Service Representative in April 2019.  She previously worked as a dispatcher with our local law enforcement and with a shelter helping women and children in need.  She is a mother of 3 young children, two boys and one girl. When Stevie is not at work, she loves binge watching TV episodes with her mom, whom she considers her best friend. She also keeps very busy with her children’s extra… Read more

The SASSI Institute is committed to helping you stay connected and feel supported during the COVID-19 crisis. The sudden changes and disruptions to our daily lives coupled with the unknowns about the immediate future can be scary and stressful. For those in the substance use disorder field, these disruptions can be particularly stressful as we are already addressing the critical needs of our clients. As you can see by visiting our site, blogs or other… Read more

We had the opportunity to consult with a treatment provider who had called in SASSI-4 scores for a Native American couple residing in Canada. Since both profiles nicely illustrate important clinical features of each client, we decided to present the interpretations in this sample. We are grateful to the treatment agency in Northern Canada that granted us permission to use the information included in this sample. To facilitate the presentation of the profiles in a… Read more

Due to the continuing outbreak of COVID-19 cases throughout the world, infectious disease experts have recommended reducing face-to-face contact and social distancing as much as possible to avoid spreading the virus. Many counseling and treatment providers are now looking to boost their adoption of virtual communication (telehealth) as a tool during this time. Congress also recently passed legislation allowing professionals to bill Medicare for patient care delivered by telehealth during the current coronavirus public health… Read more

We wish to pay tribute to Dr. Linda E. Lazowski, former Research Director of The SASSI Institute, who passed away on February 13, 2020. Linda first joined The SASSI Institute as a Research Psychologist in 1995 and retired in 2018. Linda was a Brooklyn, NY native and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Psychology from Baruch College in New York City. She then relocated to California to get her Master’s Degree and Ph.D. in Social… Read more

We are pleased to announce our most recent publication: “ Detecting “Faking good” with the Adolescent Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory- SASSI-A3: A Clinical Response to Alcohol & Other Drug Use Minimization among Teens in Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly. This article compares honest and “fake” responses from participants with known Substance Use Disorders (SUDs).  It is the first publication using data from our most recent validation study to monitor the concordance and accuracy of the adolescent SASSI screening measure. … Read more

We are excited to bring you a new stream of information through our website.  Previously we sent colleagues in the field our Newsletter through email or hard copy.  With this new format, you can expect greater variety and a more frequent stream of information.  We will still include sample interpretations, instrument updates, and ongoing research projects, but also look for engaging video content and periodic guest columns covering a range of topics. Thanks for visiting… Read more