Key ingredients to effective addictions treatment

Abstract

Based on previous reviews and recent empirical findings a number of assertions can be made as to what constitutes the active ingredients for the effective treatment of addictive disorders. These key ingredients include the following: easy accessibility of care, treatment flexibility, the involvement of collaterals, good therapists, motivated clients, matching treatment to salient client variables, client accountability for their sobriety, focused treatment approaches, and the follow-up of drop-outs and program graduates. A program developed based on these key ingredients showed a 64% abstinence rate among clients in the Action stage of recovery and a 56% abstinence rate for clients in the Contemplation stage. It is proposed that these key ingredients are generic to all effective substance abuse treatment programs and apply at both a programmatic level and an individual practitioner level.