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| Can You Hear Me Now? An Innovation to Promote Continued Treatment |
| Feature Articles - Treatment Strategies or Protocols | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by Louise Haynes, MSW, Nancy Waite-O’Brien, PhD | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, 06 August 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As lengths of stay in inpatient care have become shorter, it is
increasingly important to assist clients in making successful
transitions from residential to outpatient care. However, the move from
inpatient to outpatient care often presents special challenges for both
clients and staff. If clients are to receive an “adequate dose” in a
treatment episode, much of that treatment will be outpatient. Clients
often drop out of substance abuse treatment upon discharge from
detoxification or inpatient rehabilitation, and consequently, they
increase their chances for relapse.
This article describes an intuitively compelling, scientifically promising and as yet unproven approach to enhance recovery. Triggered by the results of an uncontrolled pilot, a large feasibility study and other literature, the intervention appears to offer a promising approach to help clients stay on track during this vulnerable post-treatment period, thus making a significant difference in the clients’ recovery. Carol, a young mother of two sons, lives in a small rural community. She has lived with her boyfriend for the past two years, but their relationship has deteriorated, and he has become increasingly abusive. Between the abuse, her addiction to crack cocaine and the stress of trying to provide for her children, Carol’s life has become intolerable. Last year, Carol went to a short-term residential treatment program and upon being discharged, was told to follow up with outpatient counseling and go to Narcotics Anonymous (NA), but she didn’t keep the outpatient appointment; nor did she find an NA meeting. She relapsed after being home for just one week. Does Carol’s scenario sound familiar? If you work in inpatient or outpatient treatment, chances are, you have met many Carols. Addictive disease is chronic in nature and characterized by relapse. So, what if treatment matched the nature of the disease? A model of treatment that provides care and support over long periods of time can help clients avoid relapse and find long-term recovery. A chronic disease model might suggest that rather than discharging a client from care, a program should continue to provide long-term care but with less frequency and intensity. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), retaining clients in treatment improves client outcomes. One of the “Principles of Effective Treatment” cited by NIDA is that “remaining in treatment for an adequate period of time is critical for treatment effectiveness” (NIDA, 2000). Want to read the entire article? Don't miss out...Subscribe now to Counselor Magazine—or buy the single issue! It's easy. Just follow the links below:
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