The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #71054

Lee Panas, MS¹, Yael Caspi, ScD, MA², Dennis McCarty, PhD³, Elizabeth Fournier, BSc⁴, and Mary F. Brolin, MA¹. (1) Health and Addictions Research, Inc., 100 Boylston Street, Suite 300, Boston, MA 02116, (2) Department of Psychiatry, Rambam Medical Center, 17a Zamenhoff Rd, Haifa, 34344, Israel, (3) Department of Public Helath and Preventive Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, 3181 SW Samuel Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR 97201, (4) Department of Public Policy, University of North Carolina, 250 East Franklin Street, Abernethy Hall, CB#3435, Chapel Hill, NC, NC 27599

Psychological treatment for substance abuse related problems has become an integral part of the expected course of recovery. The traditional individual-focused therapy has been replaced in most substance abuse treatment programs by various models of group therapy. However, empirical evidence as to what mode actually achieves better results is scarce. In this study, administrative data from the Massachusetts Substance Abuse Information System was used to examine the relationship between type of substance abuse treatment, defined as individual or group therapy, and indicators of treatment outcome, defined as program completion and goal achievement, for clients treated in publicly funded substance abuse outpatient treatment programs. Findings indicated that a larger proportion of group to individual therapy was strongly and positively associated with increased likelihood for achievement of better treatment outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this session, the participant (learner) will be able to:
• Describe the relative influence of group and individual counseling on outcomes for outpatient treatment.
• Recognize the configurations of treatment mix where the benefit is significantly strong and others where the result is ambiguous.

Keywords: Treatment Outcomes, Substance Abuse Treatment

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.