October 2005
Q: I am currently employed by a school district and I am concerned with drug
use among students. A rough estimate in a High School Alternative Learning
environment indicates that approximately 57% of those students are using
some substance. Methamphetamines are increasingly the drug of choice. I am looking for research on programs that have efficacy in working with this already high-risk group. What are the promising programs out there?
A: Evidence-based and promising practice research is growing in the area of drug prevention and treatment. More and more schools are contemplating the integration of drug and alcohol prevention programs into their curriculums and helping students seek out effective treatment options. The following five items are diverse programs that have proven effective in helping those with substance abuse addictions.
- The GAINS Center is a great resource, and has 4 fully developed modules on addressing co-occurring issues, particularly for youth already involved with the juvenile justice system. This is tailored to court-involved youth, and deals with systemic issues as well as therapeutic solutions, but still would be worthwhile to take a look at for at-risk youth. An overview of the curriculum is as follows:
Module 1 provides an overview of the juvenile justice, mental health, and substance abuse treatment systems.
Module 2 provides information about mental illness and substance use disorders, co-occurring disorders among youth in the juvenile justice system, and screening and assessment strategies.
Module 3 provides information on effective treatment strategies for youth who have co-occurring disorders.
Module 4 provides information on effective communication and systems coordination among the juvenile justice, mental health, and substance abuse treatment systems.
Access the entire curriculum at: http://www.gainsctr.com/curriculum/juvenile/
- In an October, 2003 message-board posting, former Substance Abuse Senior Advisor for the Technical Assistance Partnership, Win Turner, recommended the following guides:
- Drug Strategies 2002 Guide to Adolescent Drug Problems: “Treating Teens", which reviews 144 exemplary programs and rates them on a list of principles leading to effective youth treatment. http://www.drugstrategies.org/teens/
- The Physicians Leadership on National Drug Policy has a guide about treating youth and families which is research based and describes principles for assessment, continued care etc. The PLND and the Lighthouse Institute at Chestnut Health websites are both excellent resources. Access these sites at www.pnldp.org and http://www.chestnut.org
- The TA Partnership’s Substance Abuse Web Page:
The most useful resources on this page may be:
- SAMHSA Issues Group Therapy Guide for Substance Use Disorders Treatment
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has developed a guide for substance abuse counselors on the use of group therapy in the treatment of substance use disorders. The guide, "Substance Abuse Treatment: Group Therapy," is part of SAMHSA’s Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) series. Like other TIP documents, this guide was formed by a consensus panel of non-federal clinical researchers, clinicians, program administrators, and client advocates. The panel concluded that group therapy is an effective, cost effective treatment that offers a number of advantages to patients, including positive peer support, affiliation, and decreased isolation. The guide contains valuable information about group therapy modalities, techniques, and practices.
- The Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC)
An information and training clearing house sponsored by SAMHSA. The ATTC focuses on substance abuse and dual diagnosis evidence based treatment, research, and training. The website contains a wealth of information and links to local ATTCs. There are fourteen branches across the country. The website also contains the following resources:
- Addiction Science Made Easy: a library of cutting-edge research articles taken from the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research and rewritten in lay terms
- Eye on the Field: a monthly electronic magazine which features important topics in substance abuse treatment and provides useful tools for practitioners and administrators
- Addiction Ed: a catalog of addiction-related distance education opportunities offered by organizations around the world
- ATTC Publications Catalog: a directory of ATTC Network products and resources, including curricula, videos, presenter materials, trainings and more
- Certification Info: a listing of basic state, national and international licensing and credentialing information for alcohol and drug counselors
- The ATTC Networker: a newsletter designed to deliver timely and relevant information about ATTC projects and the substance abuse treatment field (also available in print)
- Dual Diagnosis Recovery Network
The network states their mission as "To develop and enhance recovery opportunities for individuals who experience a dual disorder of an emotional or psychiatric illness and a chemical addiction, and to provide support and education for members of their families. The DDRN offers assistance in three ways: Advocacy, Self Help, Information and Referral." It is an excellent Web site for a wide array of service help and information.
- Cannabis Youth Treatment
“This manual is designed to help train substance abuse treatment counselors to conduct a brief five-session treatment intervention for adolescents with cannabis use disorders presenting for outpatient treatment. It combines two sessions of motivational enhancement therapy provided individually and three sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy provided in a group format”
- The Matrix Model: Outpatient Stimulant Treatment – Rick Rawson out of UCLA (specific to methamphetamine treatment)
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