Certified Prevention Specialist Exam
What is Behavioral Health? - Answer - A state of mental/emotional being and/or choices
and actions that affect health and wellness.
What are some behavioral health problems? - Answer - Substance abuse or misuse
Alcohol and drug addiction
Mental and substance use disorders
Serious psychological distress
Suicide
What two entities influence the field of prevention in behavioral health? - Answer - The
public health approach and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Continuum of Care
What is Public Health? - Answer - It is what we, as a society, do collectively to assure
the conditions for people to be healthy.
Public Health Approach Key Characteristics - Answer - Promotion and prevention (focus
on wellness and preventing problems)
Population based (focus on the population, not individual)
Risk and protective factors (factors that influence the problem)
Multiple contexts (contexts related to the ecological model by how one is influenced
(family, community, school, and culture)
Developmental perspective ( consider the developmental stage of life)
Planning process (deliberate, active and ongoing planning process)
5 Questions of the Public Health Approach - Answer - What - What substance use and
other behavioral problems need to be addressed
Who - Who will the interventions focus on
When - When in the developmental stage is the intervention focusing on
Why - Why are these problems occurring? Risk and Protective Factors
, How - How do we do effective prevention?
The IOM Continuum of Care Breakdown - Answer - Promotion - involves interventions
(e.g. programs, practices, or environmental strategies)
Prevention (3 types) - Universal (general public; community policies, education to
physicians, social skills for youth), Selective (subgroup identified as having a risk of
developing SUD; prevention education for new immigrant families, peer support
groups), Indicated (high-risk individuals identified as having minimal signs; referral and
information for those who violate campus or community policies on alcohol and drug
usage, screening and referral for older adults admitted to ER with alcohol related
injuries)
Treatment - interventions and standard forms of treatment
Maintenance - interventions focusing on long-term treatment to reduce relapse
Recovery - process of change where individuals improve their health and wellness
SAMHSA Eight Dimensions of Wellness - Answer - occupational, physical, social,
intellectual, spiritual, emotional, financial, environmental
Prevention History - Answer - 1950s - scare tactics through films and speakers
1960s - scare tactics, information about substance abuse
1970s - drug curricula based on factual information, curricula based on communication,
decision-making, values clarification, and self-esteem
1980s - Parent-formed organizations to combat drug-abuse, social skills curricula,
refusal skill training
1990s - Community-based approaches to prevention, environmental approaches, media
campaigns, culturally sensitive programs
2000-2010 - evidence-based models, comprehensive programs, data-driven decision
making
2010-present - evidence-based practices, strategic planning process, improved access
to health insurance that covers mental health and substance abuse services
What is Behavioral Health? - Answer - A state of mental/emotional being and/or choices
and actions that affect health and wellness.
What are some behavioral health problems? - Answer - Substance abuse or misuse
Alcohol and drug addiction
Mental and substance use disorders
Serious psychological distress
Suicide
What two entities influence the field of prevention in behavioral health? - Answer - The
public health approach and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Continuum of Care
What is Public Health? - Answer - It is what we, as a society, do collectively to assure
the conditions for people to be healthy.
Public Health Approach Key Characteristics - Answer - Promotion and prevention (focus
on wellness and preventing problems)
Population based (focus on the population, not individual)
Risk and protective factors (factors that influence the problem)
Multiple contexts (contexts related to the ecological model by how one is influenced
(family, community, school, and culture)
Developmental perspective ( consider the developmental stage of life)
Planning process (deliberate, active and ongoing planning process)
5 Questions of the Public Health Approach - Answer - What - What substance use and
other behavioral problems need to be addressed
Who - Who will the interventions focus on
When - When in the developmental stage is the intervention focusing on
Why - Why are these problems occurring? Risk and Protective Factors
, How - How do we do effective prevention?
The IOM Continuum of Care Breakdown - Answer - Promotion - involves interventions
(e.g. programs, practices, or environmental strategies)
Prevention (3 types) - Universal (general public; community policies, education to
physicians, social skills for youth), Selective (subgroup identified as having a risk of
developing SUD; prevention education for new immigrant families, peer support
groups), Indicated (high-risk individuals identified as having minimal signs; referral and
information for those who violate campus or community policies on alcohol and drug
usage, screening and referral for older adults admitted to ER with alcohol related
injuries)
Treatment - interventions and standard forms of treatment
Maintenance - interventions focusing on long-term treatment to reduce relapse
Recovery - process of change where individuals improve their health and wellness
SAMHSA Eight Dimensions of Wellness - Answer - occupational, physical, social,
intellectual, spiritual, emotional, financial, environmental
Prevention History - Answer - 1950s - scare tactics through films and speakers
1960s - scare tactics, information about substance abuse
1970s - drug curricula based on factual information, curricula based on communication,
decision-making, values clarification, and self-esteem
1980s - Parent-formed organizations to combat drug-abuse, social skills curricula,
refusal skill training
1990s - Community-based approaches to prevention, environmental approaches, media
campaigns, culturally sensitive programs
2000-2010 - evidence-based models, comprehensive programs, data-driven decision
making
2010-present - evidence-based practices, strategic planning process, improved access
to health insurance that covers mental health and substance abuse services
