Abstract
Passages is a day treatment model based on therapeutic community (TC) methods adapted for methadone maintained clients. The goal of the program is to reduce cocaine use and injection, other drug use, and high-risk sexual behavior. The Passages approach is grounded in a recovery-oriented perspective in which methadone is a prescribed medicine that can facilitate a self help, recovery process. Preliminary evaluation findings on over 500 research participants indicate greater differential improvement in drug-risk behavior and psychological status for the Passages clients who remained 6 months in the program compared to non-Passages clients. Though awaiting controlled studies, the present study demonstrated the feasibility of integrating methadone maintenance and TC-oriented day treatment in methadone clinics; and provided evidence for the effectiveness of the Passages program in reducing risk behavior and improving psychological functioning among seriously dysfunctional substance abusers.
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