Candy Stockton, MD, first became interested in substance use disorders (SUDs) as a medical director at Shingletown Medical Center. The majority of her patients there lived in poverty, and many faced alcoholism in addition to opioid addiction. Stockton set up a judgement-free zone at the health center and offered some of the earliest medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in the county.

Along the way, Stockton learned about adverse childhood experiences, which explained a concept she had observed and had been trying to articulate for several years: Traumatic experiences during childhood are common in families with SUD problems and have long-term consequences for the families’ overall health. She became passionate about the idea that health care providers could change the future for children if they could better address addiction in families.

Since then, Stockton has gained a decade of experience treating and running programs related to SUDs. She is currently a physician at CIN partner organization Humboldt IPA. In this webinar she shared her tips and advice for engaging patients in substance use disorder treatment. Below are some highlights:

• Humanize patients with the words you use.
• Use a chronic disease model.
• Model the attitude patients deserve.
• Train staff.
• Check judgment and recognize internal biases.