Clinical Round Table 4 - The Role of Romantic Relationships in Understanding and Treating Substance Use Disorders: Couple-based Interventions in Context

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a common and costly public health concern. Research demonstrate that substance use impacts and is impacted by close relationships. Healthy, supportive relationships can serve as both a broad, reinforcing environment for recovery, and partners can directly influence substance use behaviors by using themselves or engaging in maladaptive relationship behaviors. Treatment approaches that bring committed partners into treatment show efficacy for decreasing substance use and improving relationship functioning. Despite empirical support, couples-based approaches are underutilized in the mainstream SUD treatment landscape.
This clinical roundtable brings together experts in both SUD and couple-based intervention research and practice to discuss best practices for integrating committed partners into SUD treatment. Panelists will describe evidenced-based interventions that integrate partners into SUD treatment. Aligned with this year’s conference theme, included in this discussion is how these treatments facilitate the cultivation of positive emotions. For example, by involving partners in the cultivation of shared, meaningful activities, the couple experiences opportunities for both interpersonal sources of reward and “built-in” sources of relapse prevention and maintenance of treatment gains.
In addition, panelists will identify gaps between research and the current SUD treatment landscape and consider barriers to dissemination and implementation of couples-based SUD interventions. The panel will discuss the utility of incorporating close relationships into treatment for marginalized and under-resourced couples who face disproportionately worse SUD treatment access and outcomes. Discussions will integrate multicultural approaches with cognitive behavioral and ecological frameworks underlying leading couples-based treatments for SUD. Finally, this panel will identify next steps for future research and dissemination efforts to improve the individual and relational well-being of adults with SUD, while also encouraging future collaborations between SUD and couple therapy researchers and clinicians.