Identifying an Overdose
This specific type of uneven, snoring, or gurgling breath is a primary sign of severe respiratory depression during an opioid overdose.
What is the "death rattle"
This is the primary brand name of the over-the-counter nasal spray used to reverse an opioid overdose
What is Narcan
When a therapist suspects a client is actively using high-risk substances, this is the legal and ethical document they must update to ensure the client has explicitly consented to who can be contacted in a medical emergency.
What is a Release of Information (ROI)
This specific type of legislation protects CSS staff and bystanders from prosecution for drug possession when they call 911 to report an overdose.
What is the Good Samaritan Law
Before administering Naloxone, this is the very first physical action a responder should take to see if the client can be woken up.
What is shaking them and shouting their name
In dark-skinned individuals, cyanosis (lack of oxygen) can be spotted by checking for a blue or gray tint in these two specific areas of the face.
What are the lips and inside the eyelids (or gums)?
Because Naloxone wears off in this many minutes, it is critical to call 911 immediately, as the client can slip back into an overdose.
What is 30 to 90 minutes
This specific therapeutic modality helps clients identify the exact thoughts, feelings, and environmental situations that lead to substance cravings, allowing them to build behavioral coping mechanisms to prevent high-risk, impulsive use.
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Under federal confidentiality law 42 CFR Part 2, a therapist cannot document a client’s illicit substance use in their general medical records if it is shared with outside agencies, unless the client signs this specific, highly restrictive type of consent form.
What is a SUD-Specific Release of Information (ROI)
If a client is not breathing during an overdose, you should deliver one rescue breath every this many seconds.
What is every 5 to 6 seconds
Unlike a heavy high, a person experiencing a true overdose will remain completely unresponsive to this specific painful physical stimulus applied to the chest.
What is a sternum rub
If a person does not respond to the first dose of Naloxone, you should wait this specific number of minutes before administering a second dose
What is 2 to 3 minutes
Due to strict confidentiality laws like HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2, a therapist generally cannot report a client's non-fatal, self-reported overdose to law enforcement because it does not meet this specific legal threshold for breaking confidentiality.
What is Imminent Threat of Harm to Self or Others (or a Duty to Protect mandate)
When calling 911 for a client overdosing in the field, this is the most critical physical symptom to report to ensure dispatchers prioritize the call
What is "not breathing" (or "unconscious")
This critical, low-barrier treatment approach uses medications like Methadone or Buprenorphine to significantly lower overdose mortality rates.
What is Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) or Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD)?
This term describes the extremely constricted, tiny pupils commonly seen in individuals experiencing an acute opioid overdose.
What are pinpoint pupils
If a person is breathing but unconscious after an overdose reversal, you should place them in this side-lying body position to prevent choking.
What is the recovery position
Therapists must explicitly warn clients entering recovery that their risk for a fatal overdose peaks immediately following a period of sobriety (such as incarceration or inpatient rehab) due to this biological change.
What is a Loss of Tolerance
If law enforcement arrives at an overdose scene and demands to look through a therapist's clinical field notes or client files without a warrant, the therapist must refuse based on this strict federal privacy law that specifically protects substance use patient records from police seizure
What is 42 CFR Part 2
This common, historical myth suggests that putting an overdosing person into this type of water will shock them awake, though it actually increases drowning and cardiac arrest risks.
What is an ice bath (or cold shower)?
While opioid overdoses cause slow breathing and pinpoint pupils, an overdose on stimulants (like cocaine or meth) presents with this rapid heartbeat condition and wide, dilated pupils.
What is tachycardia
Administering Naloxone to a person who is unconscious from an alcohol-only or benzodiazepine-only overdose will have this medical effect on them.
What is no effect (it will not harm them, but will not reverse a non-opioid overdose)?
When a client reports heavy, high-risk substance use, a therapist must carefully evaluate the difference between an accidental overdose risk and this intentional behavioral health emergency, as each requires a completely different legal and clinical intervention path
What is Suicidal Ideation (or intentional self-harm)
This federal agency operates the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which can assist with behavioral health emergencies.
What is SAMHSA
This professional term describes the emotional and psychological toll that staff experience after repeatedly responding to or witnessing client overdoses.
What is secondary traumatic stress