SBIRT Training

What is SBIRT?

Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) is an evidence based approach focused on early intervention and treatment of individuals at risk for developing a substance use disorder (SUD).  SBIRT promotes universal screening of all individuals to identify use, early risks, and abuse in order to intervene appropriately.

How is Marshall University involved?

Marshall was awarded a $1 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide substance abuse prevention and early intervention training to students in a number of health care-related programs. The grant will allow the university to fund a three-year collaborative effort among six departments and two professional schools, including the departments of Psychology, Social Work, Counseling, Public Health, Nursing and Physical Therapy, and the School of Pharmacy and the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. SBIRT staff are collaborating and training faculty who are training their students in order to disburse the SBIRT curriculum and implementation locally and nationally.

Why train with us?

MU SBIRT can provide a personalized training to meet the needs of your participants. The interactive training is comprehensive and can occur in single or multiple sessions. MUSBIRT has adapted and personalized the curriculum, developed through the federal agency’s medical residency grants, to focus on the needs of the Appalachian community and various styles of providers or implementers.

At Marshall University, the SBIRT curriculum has been developed to provide training for faculty and field supervisors to assure effective screening, motivational interviewing, and patient referral for those in need of substance abuse treatment. In addition, Marshall’s SBIRT training will provide a framework for teaching the university’s health professions students how to collaborate to deliver improved patient-centered care.


 To learn more or register for training, contact,  Amy Saunders (saunde22@marshall.edu or 304-696-4800.