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Success of Therapeutic Communities for Substance Abusers in American Prisons

NCJ Number
154672
Journal
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs Volume: 27 Issue: 1 Dated: (January-March 1995) Pages: 57-66
Author(s)
H K Wexler
Date Published
1995
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article provides an overview of prison therapeutic community (TC) outcome research for drug abusers in American prisons; the emergence of the TC as the primary substance abuse treatment modality in prison is described.
Abstract
Residential treatment provides opportunities for intensive interventions and support that may not be present in outpatient settings. In the area of substance abuse treatment, the TC has become synonymous with residential treatment. A growing body of prison TC outcome research has led to recent acceptance of prison TC's as a major innovation in American correctional institutions. The self-help orientation that provides the basis for both residential and 12-step substance-abuse treatment programs is described and contrasted with the relapse recovery model. The theoretical principles of the TC model are discussed, and two main variants of the prison TC model are described and contrasted. Recommendations are offered for expanding the TC approach and increasing its effectiveness by treating comorbid problems that are prevalent among prison inmates with substance abuse problems. 54 references