AAAP Review of Addiction Psychiatry

Carla Marienfeld, MD, DFAPA, DFASAM is board-certified in psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, and addiction medicine. She is a Clinical Professor at the University of California San Diego where she is the Co-Director of the Pacific Treatment And Research Center (PacTARC), Clinical Lead for the Substance Treatment and Recovery (STAR) Program, and the Program Director for the UCSD Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship. She has authored or co-authored over five dozen peer reviewed articles, book chapters, practice guidelines, and invited commentaries, and she edited three books:  Motivational Interviewing for Clinical Practice, Absolute Addiction Psychiatry Review:  An essential board exam study guide, and Addiction Psychopharmacology, 3rd Ed. Dr. Marienfeld completed a fellowship in addiction psychiatry and residency training in psychiatry at Yale. She earned a medical degree with honors from Baylor College of Medicine.Maryam Soltani, MD, PhD is triple board-certified in psychiatry, addiction medicine, and family medicine and is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. She serves as Medical Director of the Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (SARRTP) at the VA San Diego Healthcare System. She was named a San Diego Top Doctor in 2023 and received the Department of Psychiatry Clinician of the Year Award at University of California, San Diego in 2025. Dr. Soltani’s work bridges neuroscience and clinical medicine, focusing on the neurobiology and treatment of substance use disorders and their associated medical and psychiatric conditions. She has authored dozens of peer-reviewed publications in neuroscience, addiction medicine, and psychiatry. She earned her PhD in psychology with an emphasis in biological psychology and neuroscience from the University of California, Berkeley and her medical degree from University of California, San Diego, where she completed a dual residency in family medicine and psychiatry and served as chief resident during her final year of training.

• Part I Diagnosis, Treatment Modalities and Settings, Recovery.- Chapter 1 Health Services:  Addiction Treatment Settings and Levels of Care.- Chapter 2 Laboratory, drug testing.- Chapter 3 Epidemiology, Genetics, and Neurobiology of Substance Use and Disorders.- Chapter 4 Screening (including psychometric testing), Evaluation and diagnosis of Substance Use Disorder.- Chapter 5 Non-pharmacologic Treatment across Substances:  Psychotherapy and psychosocial treatments.- Chapter 6 Recovery from Addiction:  Relapse Prevention and Treatment Monitoring.- Part II Addictions and their Treatments.- Chapter 7 Nicotine.- Chapter 8 Alcohol.- Chapter 9 Benzodiazepines and other Sedatives, Hypnotics, and Anxiolytics.- Chapter 10 Cannabis.- Chapter 11 Opioids.- Chapter 12 Stimulants:  Cocaine, Amphetamines, and other Stimulants.- Chapter 13 Steroids, Dissociatives, Club Drugs, Inhalants, and Hallucinogens.- Chapter 14 Behavioral addictions.- Part III Populations.- Chapter 15 Adolescents and Students.- Chapter 16 Women and Pregnancy.- Chapter 17 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans (LGBT-QIA).- Chapter 18 Underserved Populations.- Chapter 19 Older Adults.- Chapter 20 Professionals.- Chapter 21 Co-occurring Medical Disorders.- Chapter 22 Co-occurring Psychiatric Disorders.- Part IV Other Topics.- Chapter 23 Prevention, Public Health, and Public Policy.- Chapter 24 Ethical and Legal Considerations.- Part V Board-style Practice Exam.