| Course | PAC 240 Helping Skills |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 3 |
| Paper type | Evidence-based treatment plan |
| Length | About 1,071 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PAC 240 Module 3
After the Overdose: An Evidence-Based Treatment Plan Combining Medication, Contingency Management and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
PAC 240: Helping Skills
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
After the Overdose: An Evidence-Based Treatment Plan Combining Medication, Contingency Management and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Kevin is thirty-one and works nights at a distribution warehouse. Three weeks ago a coworker found him unresponsive in his car in the company parking lot and gave him naloxone from the first aid kit. In the emergency department, he was told he had overdosed on fentanyl, which he had not known was in the pills he bought. He agreed to a referral to Riverside Recovery Services, the invented outpatient program in these papers. His assessment showed a severe opioid use disorder: he meets eight of eleven DSM-5 criteria, including withdrawal and failed efforts to stop. His priorities, in his words, are staying alive, keeping his job and getting his girlfriend to trust him again. This paper builds his treatment plan. Kevin and Riverside are composites for teaching; the studies are real.
Medication After an Overdose
For opioid use disorder, medication is the foundation of evidence-based treatment. Larochelle et al. (2018) linked state records for more than seventeen thousand Massachusetts adults who lived through an opioid overdose. In the following year, those who received methadone had a substantially lower risk of death from any cause and from opioid overdose than those who did not, and those who received buprenorphine also had a substantially lower risk. Naltrexone was not associated with lower mortality, though few people received it. Despite these associations, fewer than a third of overdose survivors received any medication in the following year. The study was observational, so people who chose medication may have differed in other ways, but the size of the associations and their consistency with trial evidence make medication the plan's first priority.
Psychosocial Treatments
Medication works best with psychosocial support. Dutra et al. (2008) pooled controlled trials of psychosocial treatments for substance use disorders, including cognitive behavioral therapy, relapse prevention, contingency management and combinations. Overall, the treatments produced moderate effects compared with control conditions. Effects varied by substance, being larger for cannabis and smaller for studies of people using several drugs. Among treatment types, contingency management, which provides tangible rewards for verified abstinence, produced among the largest effects, and combinations of cognitive behavioral therapy with contingency management also performed well. Dropout was a problem across treatments, underscoring the importance of engagement.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
McHugh et al. (2010) reviewed cognitive behavioral therapy for substance use disorders. They described two central components. Functional analysis examines the situations, thoughts and feelings that come before use and the consequences that follow, so that client and counselor understand what use does for the client. Skills training then teaches ways to cope with craving, refuse offers, solve problems and manage negative moods. The authors found strong support for cognitive behavioral therapy across substances, both alone and combined with other approaches such as motivational interviewing and contingency management, and noted evidence that its effects can persist after treatment ends as clients continue to use the skills they learned.
The Treatment Plan
| Problem | Measurable goal | Intervention | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Severe opioid use disorder; overdose risk | Starts buprenorphine within one week; takes it daily | Referral to the program's prescriber; daily dosing at first, then take-home | Larochelle and colleagues |
| Risk of death if he uses | Carries naloxone; girlfriend trained to use it | Naloxone kit and training at intake | Overdose prevention practice |
| Continued use | Negative urine tests for opioids at weekly tests by week eight | Contingency management: vouchers for each negative test, rising with consecutive negatives | Dutra and colleagues |
| Triggers: night shifts, payday, a coworker who sells | Identifies five high-risk situations and a coping plan for each by week four | Weekly cognitive behavioral therapy with functional analysis and skills training | McHugh, Hearon and Otto |
| Job at risk | Keeps job; no missed shifts for dosing | Coordinate dosing times with his schedule; letter for employer with consent | Engagement and retention |
| Relationship strain | Girlfriend attends two family sessions | Family sessions on recovery and overdose response | Supports engagement |
How the Components Fit Together
The components support one another. Buprenorphine reduces withdrawal and craving, making it possible for Kevin to attend sessions and learn new skills. Contingency management rewards each negative test immediately, which supports early abstinence while cognitive behavioral therapy builds longer-term skills. Functional analysis will examine his night shifts, when he used most, and the coworker who sells pills, and his skills training will include refusing offers at work. Naloxone and family involvement address safety and his relationship, the two other priorities he named.
Why Not Counseling Alone
Kevin's previous attempt to stop, two years ago, used counseling alone: weekly sessions without medication, which he left after a month when withdrawal and craving became more than he could manage. That experience is common. For opioid use disorder, psychosocial treatment without medication carries high rates of dropout and return to use, and in the fentanyl era a return to use carries a high risk of death. The plan therefore treats medication as the foundation and counseling as what is built on it, not as alternatives. Kevin was worried that buprenorphine would mean he was "still using." His counselor explained the difference between a prescribed medication taken as directed, which stabilizes him, and the unpredictable pills that nearly killed him.
Respecting Kevin's Priorities
The plan is built around what Kevin wants: staying alive, keeping his job and regaining his girlfriend's trust. Each goal connects to one of these. Framing the plan this way supports engagement, which Dutra and colleagues' dropout findings show is essential. Kevin agreed to the plan after it was explained, and asked to begin buprenorphine as soon as possible.
Review
Kevin and his counselor will review the plan at thirty days, looking at his medication adherence, urine tests, attendance and his own assessment of how things are going. Goals will be adjusted with him. If he uses, the plan will be reviewed immediately rather than at the next scheduled date, with attention to safety, and he will not be discharged for using, since continued engagement is the plan's purpose.
Conclusion
Kevin's overdose made his treatment plan urgent. Larochelle and colleagues show that medication after an overdose is associated with far lower mortality, Dutra and colleagues show that psychosocial treatments, especially contingency management, are effective and McHugh, Hearon and Otto describe the cognitive behavioral methods that build lasting skills. Combined around Kevin's own priorities, with measurable goals and regular review, these components form a plan with the best chance of keeping him alive and in recovery.
References
Dutra, L., Stathopoulou, G., Basden, S. L., Leyro, T. M., Powers, M. B., & Otto, M. W. (2008). A meta-analytic review of psychosocial interventions for substance use disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 165(2), 179-187. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2007.06111851
Larochelle, M. R., Bernson, D., Land, T., Stopka, T. J., Wang, N., Xuan, Z., Bagley, S. M., Liebschutz, J. M., & Walley, A. Y. (2018). Medication for opioid use disorder after nonfatal opioid overdose and association with mortality: A cohort study. Annals of Internal Medicine, 169(3), 137-145. https://doi.org/10.7326/M17-3107
McHugh, R. K., Hearon, B. A., & Otto, M. W. (2010). Cognitive behavioral therapy for substance use disorders. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 33(3), 511-525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2010.04.012
Reading the PAC 240 Module 3 assignment instructions
Treatment planning with evidence-based models is the third module's focus in PAC 240, and assignments typically ask you to choose interventions for a diagnosed client and justify each with research. Consult the Module 3 instructions in your Aspen course; Kevin is a teaching composite. Summarize the diagnosis and the client's priorities. Present evidence for each component you choose, including medications where relevant. Write goals that are specific and measurable. Explain how components work together. Address safety, especially after an overdose. Plan how and when progress will be reviewed, and support every component with an APA 7 citation to the study behind it. Keep the client's own words for his priorities.
How the PAC 240 Module 3 example is put together
Kevin was revived with naloxone in a parking lot; his diagnosis is severe opioid use disorder. Larochelle and colleagues' Annals of Internal Medicine cohort study links medication after overdose to lower mortality. Dutra and colleagues' American Journal of Psychiatry meta-analysis compares psychosocial treatments. McHugh, Hearon and Otto's Psychiatric Clinics of North America review describes cognitive behavioral therapy's functional analysis and skills training. A six-row plan table lists problems, measurable goals, interventions and evidence: buprenorphine, naloxone, contingency management, cognitive behavioral therapy, work and family. The plan explains how the parts reinforce one another, states that a lapse leads to review rather than discharge and sets a thirty-day review with Kevin.
Reading the PAC 240 Module 3 grading rubric
Treatment plans earn credit for components grounded in evidence, measurable goals and a coherent rationale. This example includes medication, the intervention with the strongest evidence for reducing deaths after overdose, rather than relying only on counseling. Each component cites the study supporting it, and every goal can be checked against a test, a count or a date. The paper reports effect sizes with appropriate caution, noting that the mortality findings come from observational data. The plan respects Kevin's priorities, such as keeping his job, and it schedules a review, which shows that planning continues through treatment. Overdose safety is addressed directly, as the situation demands, and the plan commits to keeping Kevin in care if he uses.
Common PAC 240 Module 3 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Treatment plans often list interventions without evidence or goals that cannot be measured, such as client will be sober. Write goals that can be checked, such as negative urine tests on a stated schedule. Include medications for opioid use disorder when they apply; omitting them ignores the strongest evidence. Cite evidence for each component. Explain how components work together. Address overdose risk directly, including naloxone. Include the client's own priorities. Plan reviews. Avoid prescribing medication yourself; describe the referral and coordination. Report observational findings, such as overdose cohort studies, as associations, and update the plan with the client at each review rather than by yourself. State what happens if the client uses during treatment.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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- PAC 102 Module 5: Screening and Early Intervention
- PAC 310 Module 1: Ethics, Law and Professionalism
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PAC 240 Module 3 questions, answered
What does PAC 240 Module 3 usually ask for?
Aspen's PAC 240 covers evidence-based treatment models in this module, so a treatment plan with research-supported components and measurable goals is typical. Check your Module 3 prompt.
Does medication after an opioid overdose save lives?
Larochelle and colleagues found that methadone and buprenorphine in the year after a nonfatal overdose were associated with substantially lower mortality.
Which psychosocial treatments work best for substance use disorders?
Dutra and colleagues found psychosocial treatments effective overall, with contingency management producing among the largest effects.
Where can I find a free PAC 240 Module 3 sample paper?
Read the full plan above: medication, contingency management and cognitive behavioral therapy after a nonfatal overdose, with measurable goals.
What is cognitive behavioral therapy for addiction?
McHugh, Hearon and Otto describe it as analyzing the situations, thoughts and consequences around use and teaching skills to cope and refuse.