Abstract
An original follow-up study of fifty patients from the Brentwood Veterans Administration Residential Treatment Center (RTC) was conducted in 1974 with favorable results for 44 per cent of the sample [1]. The difficulty in obtaining a favorable outcome in drug treatment is well documented with few modalities daring to claim long-term effectiveness. The therapeutic community is one modality that does purport to be effective and there is evidence that this is true [2]. Kleber et al. find that residential treatment graduates seem to do better compared to dropouts [3]. Bale et al, comparing long-term therapeutic communities with methadone maintenance in a two-year-outcome study, showed superior results for the residential treatment [4].
The purpose of the following study is to continue follow-up of the original sample of RTC residents from our 1974 report. This five-year perspective should present further information on the long-term effectiveness of residential treatment.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.