Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine - Volume 68, Number 1, Page 33

Volume 68 Number 1
January 2001 back to contents

An Alternative Program for Methadone Maintenance Dropouts:
Description and Preliminary Data 33-40

Marjorie F. Goldstein, Ph.D., Sherry Deren, Ph.D., Mark Beardsley, Ph.D., and Beverly L. Richman, M.D.

Address correspondence to Marjorie F. Goldstein, Ph.D., National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., Two World Trade Center, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10048.

ABSTRACT
Time in drug treatment has been shown to be one of the best predictors of post-treatment success. Since as many as half of the enrollees leave methadone treatment during the first year, the project described in this article was designed to test the effectiveness of an alternative program for individuals who have recently dropped out of methadone maintenance treatment. The goals of this "Alternative Program" are to help participants re-connect with formal drug treatment and other community or medical programs, reduce their HIV risk behavior, decrease or eliminate drug use, join self-help groups, and obtain entitlements. Program components include: contacts by local outreach workers, cognitive-behavioral relapse-prevention group counseling, and individual counseling for needs assessment and referral. This paper describes the basis for development of the intervention, summarizes the methodology being used, and provides preliminary data on participation in the Alternative Program.

KEY WORDS
Substance-related disorders, methadone, substance-abuse treatment centers, patient dropouts, methadone maintenance

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An Alternative Program for Methadone Maintenance Dropouts: Description and Preliminary Data	33-40
Marjorie F. Goldstein, Ph.D., Sherry Deren, Ph.D., Mark Beardsley, Ph.D., and Beverly L. Richman, M.D.
Address correspondence to Marjorie F. Goldstein, Ph.D., National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., Two World Trade Center, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10048.