Drug intervention programs, according to the National Institute of Justice, offer comprehensive treatment designed to provide drug-involved individuals with life and educational skills, self-esteem and resources to resist crime, violence and substance addiction. For people in intervention programs, failing a drug test could result in mandatory drug treatment and other negative consequences.
12-Step Programs
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is a 12-step program free for anyone with a desire to stop abusing drugs or alcohol. The mission of NA is first admitting you are powerless over drugs and that your life has become unmanageable.
There are an estimated 44,000 NA meetings in more than 127 countries all over the world. Caron Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centers found that patients who attended a 12-step program to help them stay sober relapsed less often compared to people who attempted to stay sober without a treatment program.
In 1993, drug felons in Washington, D.C., who were sent to a 12-step program as part of a drug-intervention experiment were less likely to be re-arrested than people who did not get treatment. The treatment participants also had a reduction in social problems.
Harm Reduction
Harm reduction treatment involves using an opiate agonist--including methadone, Suboxone, Subutex or Antabuse--to curb cravings and block the effects of narcotics. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) found that people on long-acting synthetic opiates can engage more readily in counseling and therapeutic interventions needed to help stay sober. Stabilizing a person addicted to drugs allows him to hold a job and reduce exposure to diseases, violence and crime.
According to the ONDCP, an estimated 1 percent of people addicted to opiates quit using drugs without the help of harm-reduction treatments such as opiate agonists. More frightening, because about 60 percent of those who are addicted to opiates turn to mainlining drugs within three years, the ONDCP suggests that harm reduction is a better alternative to abstinence.
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational interviewing is an evidence-based, substance abuse treatment approach. Christine Barrowclough, PhD, author of a 2001 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, found that using motivational interviewing on patients diagnosed with drug abuse and other mental disorders showed significant improvement after 12 months. They had better general functioning skills and increased periods of abstinence.
In motivational interviewing, an addiction specialist asks patients to address different components of their drug abuse. Participants talk about episodes of using; discuss the harms and consequences of addiction; discuss their willingness to address their problems; and talk about their ambivalence toward changing their behavior.
References
- National Institute of Justice: Evaluation of the D.C. Superior Court Drug Intervention Programs
- Caron Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centers: Current Statistics
- The Office of National Drug Control Policy: Does Treatment Work?
- NREPP: National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices
- Motivational Interviewing: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
