
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health asserted that close to 30% of respondents aged 12 and older reported use of illicit substances in the past month (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2017). population aged 12 and older had used illicit substances or misused prescription medications (CDC, 2018).

For the year 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 18% of the U.S. Substance use and misuse in the United States is extremely common. Keywords: substance use and misuse, Five Ps, idiographic, systematic, flexible Following a discussion of the Five Ps, a brief case illustration will demonstrate the framework. It can assist both novice and experienced clinicians working with clients who present for counseling with substance use and misuse.

Additionally, its holistic and creative style provides opportunities to address concerns at various points with a variety of strategies and interventions that will best suit clients’ unique situations. The Five Ps is an idiographically based framework providing clinicians with a systematic and flexible means of addressing substance use and misuse that can be used in conjunction with standard substance use and misuse interventions. Currently, there are a variety of empirically based interventions for treating clients who engage in substance use and misuse.

Substance use and misuse is exceedingly common and has numerous implications, both individual and societal, impacting millions of Americans directly and indirectly every year.
