1. What is an assessment?
A drug and alcohol assessment is designed to develop complete and comprehensive picture of problems to ensure that the person is referred to the right type of treatment, at the right level of care.

2. Who administers the assessment?
Perhaps the highest level of qualification is a person who is a specialized addiction psychiatrist, were certified by ASAM, the American Society Of Addiction Medicine. Generally, assessments rests in the hands of a licensed or certified drug abuse counselor, or licensed mental-health worker. In all cases is very important that they have specialized experience in working in addictions. Addiction treatment is a specialized field within the mental health realm. The most important outcome of the assessment is to determine the next step in care.

3. What happens in an assessment?
Assessments generally are an information gathering process. Use of standardized questionnaires or structured interviews is very common. There are several ways in assessment can be conducted depending on the interviewers. Most assessments will extract the following information:

• substance use history
• drug treatment history
• competencies and strengths
• physical health
• mental health
• legal involvement
• family history and functioning
• social history and functioning

4. How do I know if I got a competent assessment?
A competent assessment should include all of the areas above. You should have also been asked to take standardized tests or questionnaire. This ensures that your answers are evaluated according to a long-established and professional standard.