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Modified Therapeutic Community for Mentally Ill Chemical "Abusers": Background; Influences; Program Description; Preliminary Findings

NCJ Number
166668
Journal
Substance Use & Misuse Volume: 32 Issue: 9 Dated: special issue (1997) Pages: 1217-1259
Author(s)
S Sacks; J Sacks; G De Leon; A I Bernhardt; G L Staines
Date Published
1997
Length
43 pages
Annotation
This paper briefly surveys the literature on the co- occurrence of mental and substance abuse disorders, discusses several convergent influences on the development of modified therapeutic community (TC) approaches, and describes the modified TC program for mentally ill substance abusers (MISA's).
Abstract
The literature review reveals considerable agreement on the increasing number of individuals identified as MISA's and on the nature of the MISA disorder. Reports on clinically effective treatments are available, and these reports also contain general guidelines for the development of new MISA programs. One treatment approach, the modified TC, evolved from theoretical, research, and field influences and provides a new model for application to the MISA disorder. The modified TC is developed and documented in terms of its conceptual framework, structure, process, and interventions. With key modifications, the model has considerable potential to impact the mental health and drug treatment fields by applying a powerful treatment technology of proven effectiveness. Preliminary findings provide empirical support for the effectiveness of the modified TC program and underscore the limited effectiveness of "treatment as usual" approaches. The authors note that drug treatment approaches must be comprehensive, multidimensional, and of relatively long duration and must systematically address the interrelated problems of mental illness and substance abuse. 95 references and 7 tables