Who's Who  |  Fast Facts   |  Cutting Edge  |  Related Links

WHO’S WHO IN TREATMENT ON THE INTERNET:

Our top three Who’s Who on the Internet in the field of Drug Abuse Treatment include the following organizations:
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA),
The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), and
Join Together.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is the best place to begin a search for information and online resources for drug abuse treatment. NIDA's mission is to provide strategic support and conduct of research across a broad range of disciplines and is aimed at improving addiction prevention, treatment, and policy. A good place to start your information research at the NIDA website is at the site plan. Publications, documents, research reports, monographs, and treatment manuals can be found at http://www.nida.nih.gov/PublicationsIndex.html. This is a must see site!

If you can’t find what your looking for at NIDA, go to the The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) web site. CSAT works cooperatively across the private and public treatment spectrum to identify, develop, and support policies, approaches, and programs that enhance and expand treatment services for individuals who abuse alcohol and other drugs and that address individuals' addiction-related problems. CSAT web site is well-organized and separates site visitors to those looking for information, professionals, and those looking for help with substance abuse. Check it out!

The last highly recommended site is Join Together, a national resource center for communities working to reduce substance abuse and gun violence. Join Together has a vast library of resources and information on drug abuse treatment and advocacy, and is a must see site for anybody involved in the addiction field.

Other important organizations include The National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), Alcoholics Anonymous , and Narcotics Anonymous.

And of course be sure to browse the listings of the other significant Who’s Who sites not mentioned above at Drugnet.

 FAST FACTS:

• What are the four most common types of treatment? The four most common types of programs are outpatient methadone, outpatient drug-free, long-term residential , and short-term inpatient. Outpatient methadone programs administer the medication methadone to reduce cravings for heroin and block its effects. Counseling, vocational skills development, and case management to help patients access support services are used to gradually stabilize the patients functioning. Some patients stay on methadone for long periods, while others move from methadone to abstinence. Long-term residential programs offer around-the-clock, drug-free treatment in a residential community of counselors and fellow recovering addicts. Patients generally stay in these programs several months or up to a year or more. Some of these programs are referred to as therapeutic communities. Outpatient drug-free programs use a wide range of approaches including problem-solving groups, specialized therapies such as insight-oriented psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and 12-step programs. As with long-term residential treatment programs, patients may stay in these programs for months or longer. Short-term inpatient programs keep patients up to 30 days. Most of these programs focus on medical stabilization, abstinence, and lifestyle changes. Staff members are primarily medical professionals and trained counselors. Once primarily for alcohol abuse treatment, these programs expanded into drug abuse treatment in the 1980s.

• Is treatment effective? The four most common forms of drug abuse treatment are all effective in reducing drug use. That is the major finding from a NIDA-sponsored nationwide study of drug abuse treatment outcomes. The Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS) tracked 10,010 drug abusers in nearly 100 treatment programs in 11 cities who entered treatment between 1991 and 1993.

• What makes patients stay in treatment? DATOS researchers found that the major predictors were high motivation, legal pressure to stay in treatment, no prior trouble with the law, getting psychological counseling while in treatment, and lack of other psychological problems, especially antisocial personality disorder. The investigators found that programs with low retention rates tended to have patients with the most problems, particularly antisocial personality disorder, cocaine addiction, or alcohol dependence.

• Do short term inpatient programs work? Short-term inpatient treatment programs in the DATOS study yielded significant declines in drug use, even though patients stayed in these programs no more than 30 days.

• Other Important Treatment Facts: Patients surveyed by DATOS reported that it took them about 7 years after they first used their primary drug to enter treatment.

• The Economic Costs of Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the United States - 1992: The economic cost to society from alcohol and drug abuse was an estimated $246 billion in 1992. Alcohol abuse and alcoholism cost an estimated $148 billion, while drug abuse and dependence cost an estimated $98 billion.

 THE CUTTING EDGE:

SAMHSA's National Directory of Drug Abuse and Alcoholism Treatment and Prevention Programs  is available online.

Drughelp.org is a new website for DrugHelp, a non-profit information and referral network, providing information on specific drugs and treatment options, and referrals to treatment programs, self-help groups, family support groups and crisis centers throughout the United States.

The most exciting and largest study of drug abuse treatment outcomes since the early 1980's is the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS). DATOS tracked 10,010 drug abusers in nearly 100 treatment programs in 11 cities who entered treatment between 1991 and 1993.

A summary of the DATOS findings can be found at NIDA. A more complete description of the findings and data can be found at the new DATOS web site.