Group Therapy for Substance Abusers

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how substance abuse is a major problem in the United States and many other countries and how since prevention of the problem is not yet a possibility, the focus has been on intervention and treatment. It evaluates different group therapy programs such as the Alcoholics Anonymous program and other 12-step, self help programs. It also it compares the self help programs with the increased effectiveness of substance abuse treatment that is gained through attendance in aftercare group therapy programs. It shows how the treatment of substance abusers often seems to require a combination of approaches and how approaches that utilize inpatient or outpatient treatment, plus AA, plus individual or group therapy, plus conceivably medication for the substance abuse disorder or the mental health problem might be the most effective.

Outline
Introduction
Combining Group Therapy and Self-Help Groups
Special Populations
Special Problems in Group Therapy
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"In one study, for example, researchers attempted to compare the effectiveness of the Twelve Step Facilitation Therapy Model with Motivational Enhancement Therapy for those clients who were alcohol dependent and members of social networks that were highly supportive of drinking (Longabaugh et al., 1998). The researchers randomly assigned 806 clients from five clinical research units to one of three different individual treatment models, which also included Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. What they learned during this longitudinal study was that TSF was more effective than MET in certain circumstances, particularly with clients who had networks which were highly supportive of drinking."

More papers on Group Therapy for Substance Abusers:

• Essay # 24304 : "Substance Abuse"
• Research Paper # 145938 : "Therapy for Veterans"
• Research Paper # 24374 : "Treatment of Substance Abusers"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: