Interdependent group contingency management for cocaine-dependent methadone maintenance patients.

Contingency management (CM) for drug abstinence has been applied to individuals independently even when delivered in groups. We developed a group CM intervention in which the behavior of a single, randomly selected, anonymous individual determined reinforcement delivery for the entire group. We also compared contingencies placed only on cocaine abstinence (CA) versus one of four behaviors (CA, treatment attendance, group CM attendance, and methadone compliance) selected randomly at each drawing. Two groups were formed with 22 cocaine-dependent community-based methadone patients and exposed to both CA and multiple behavior (MB) conditions in a reversal design counterbalanced across groups for exposure order. The group CM intervention proved feasible and safe. The MB condition improved group CM meeting attendance relative to the CA condition.

Analyzing components of Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT): Is treatment entry training sufficient?

Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) assists family members with a treatment-resistant loved one. The most consistent outcome of CRAFT is increased treatment entry of the identified treatment-resistant person (IP). This led us to question whether all 6 components of CRAFT are necessary. In a randomized clinical trial, 115 concerned significant others (CSOs) of an IP received 12-14 sessions of the full CRAFT intervention, 4-6 sessions focused on Treatment Entry Training (TEnT), or 12-14 sessions of Al-Anon/Nar-Anon Facilitation (ANF). We monitored treatment entry, attendance, and substance use of the IP and the CSO's mood and functioning. Data were collected at baseline and 4, 6, and 9 months after the baseline. We found significant reductions in time to treatment entry (χ(2)2 = 8.89, p = .01) and greater treatment entry rates for CRAFT (62%; odds ratio [OR] = 2.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1-6.9) and TEnT (63%; OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.2-7.5) compared with ANF (37%), but CRAFT and TEnT did not differ significantly from each other (OR = 1.1, 95% CI = 0.4-2.7). No between-group differences in IP drug use were reported by CSOs, but days of drug use decreased over time for all groups (F(3, 277) = 13.47, p < .0001). Similarly, CSO mood and functioning did not differ between the 3 conditions but improved over time (p < .0001 for all significant measures). We replicated the results of previous trials demonstrating that CRAFT produces greater treatment entry rates than ANF and found similar treatment entry rates for CRAFT and TEnT. This suggests that treatment entry training is sufficient for producing the best established outcome of CRAFT. (PsycINFO Database Record

Examining multi-session brief intervention for substance use in primary care: research methods of a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Brief interventions such as Screening, a single session of Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) have shown mixed effectiveness in primary care. However, there are indications that multi-session brief interventions may demonstrate more consistently positive outcomes, and perhaps a more intensive approach would be of benefit in addressing substance use in primary care. This study compared the effectiveness of SBIRT with a single BI session (BI/RT) to a multi-session brief-treatment intervention (BI/RT+) in primary care. We also developed easy-to-use, evidence-based materials to assist clinicians in delivering these interventions. METHODS/DESIGN: This study was conducted in three Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers (FQHCs). A total of 10,935 patients were screened, and 600 individuals were recruited. The sample was primarily Black/African American (82 %) with a mean age of 40. Patients who attended a healthcare appointment were screened for substance use via the AUDIT and DAST. Patients were eligible for the study if they scored 8 or higher on the AUDIT, were using only marijuana and scored 2 or higher on the DAST, or were using other illicit drugs and scored 1 or higher on the DAST. Participants were randomly assigned to receive one-session BI/RT, or two to six sessions of brief intervention that incorporated elements of motivational enhancement therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (BI/RT+). Both interventions were delivered by behavioral health consultants at the FQHCs. Participants completed follow-up assessments every 3 months for 1 year. Primary outcome variables included substance use treatment sessions attended and days of substance use. Secondary outcomes included measures of health, employment, legal, and psychiatric functioning and HIV risk behaviors. Additionally, we will conduct an economic evaluation examining cost-effectiveness and will analyze outcomes from a process evaluation examining patient and provider experiences. DISCUSSION: The ability of brief interventions to impact substance use has great potential, but research findings have been mixed. By conducting a large-scale randomized controlled trial in real-world health centers, this study will answer important questions about the effectiveness of expanded BIs for patients who screen positive for risky substance use in primary care. Trial registration NCT01751672.

Implementation of a Brief Treatment Counseling Toolkit in Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers: Patient and Clinician Utilization and Satisfaction.

INTRODUCTION: The need to integrate behavioral health care within medical settings is widely recognized, and integrative care approaches are associated with improved outcomes for a range of disorders. As substance use treatment integration efforts expand within primary care settings, training behavioral health providers in evidence-based brief treatment models that are cost-effective and easily fit within the medical flow is essential. METHODS: Guided by principles drawn from Diffusion of Innovations theory (Rogers, 2003) and the Consolidated Framework of Implementation Research (Damschroder et al., 2009), we adapted elements of Motivational Enhancement Therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and 12-step facilitation into a brief counseling toolkit. The toolkit is a menu driven assortment of 35 separate structured clinical interventions that each include client takeaway resources to reinforce brief clinical contacts. We then implemented this toolkit in the context of a randomized clinical trial in three Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers. Behavioral Health Consultants (BHCs) used a pre-screening model wherein 10,935 patients received a brief initial screener, and 2011 received more in-depth substance use screening. Six hundred patients were assigned to either a single session brief intervention or an expanded brief treatment encompassing up to five additional sessions. We conducted structured interviews with patients, medical providers, and BHCs to obtain feedback on toolkit implementation. RESULTS: On average, patients assigned to brief treatment attended 3.29 sessions. Fifty eight percent of patients reported using most or all of the educational materials provided to them. Patients assigned to brief treatment reported that the BHC sessions were somewhat more helpful than did patients assigned to a single session brief intervention (p=.072). BHCs generally reported that the addition of the toolkit was helpful to their work in delivering screening and brief treatment. DISCUSSION: This work is significant because it provides support to clinicians in delivering evidence-based brief interventions and has been formatted into presentation styles that can be presented flexibly depending on patient need.

The RoadMAP Relapse Prevention Group Counseling Toolkit™: counselor adherence and competence outcomes.

Training counselors in empirically supported treatments (ESTs) far exceeds the ever decreasing resources of community-based treatment agencies. The purpose of this study was to examine outpatient substance abuse group counselors' (n=19) adherence and competence in communicating and utilizing concepts associated with empirically-supported relapse prevention treatment following a brief multimedia toolkit (RoadMAP Toolkit™) training. Moderate or large baseline to post-training effect sizes for counselor adherence to toolkit content were identified for 13 of 21 targeted behaviors (overall d range=.06-2.85) with the largest gains on items measuring active skill practice. Post-training adherence gains were largely maintained at the 6-month follow-up, although no statistically significant improvements were identified over time for counselor competence. This study provides important preliminary support for using a multi-media curriculum approach to increase empirically-supported relapse prevention skills among group counselors. Future research should focus on finding ways to improve counselor skill level and to determine the impact of the Toolkit on client outcomes.

Randomized clinical trial examining duration of voucher-based reinforcement therapy for cocaine abstinence.

BACKGROUND: This is the first study to systematically manipulate duration of voucher-based reinforcement therapy (VBRT) to see if extending the duration increases abstinence during and following VBRT. METHODS: We randomized cocaine-dependent methadone-maintained adults to Standard (12 weeks; n=62) or Extended (36 weeks; n=68) VBRT and provided escalating voucher amounts contingent upon urinalysis verification of cocaine abstinence. Urinalysis was scheduled at least every 2 weeks during the 48-week study and more frequently during VBRT (3/week) and 12 weeks of Aftercare (2/week). RESULTS: Extended VBRT produced longer durations of continuous cocaine abstinence during weeks 1-24 (5.7 vs 2.7 weeks; p=0.003) and proportionally more abstinence during weeks 24-36 (X(2)=4.57, p=.03, OR=2.18) compared to Standard VBRT. Duration of VBRT did not directly predict after-VBRT abstinence; but longer continuous abstinence during VBRT predicted abstinence during Aftercare (p=0.001) and during the last 12 weeks of the study (p<0.001). Extended VBRT averaged higher monthly voucher costs compared to Standard VBRT ($96 vs $43, p<.001); however, the average cost per week of abstinence attained was higher in the Standard group ($8.06 vs $5.88, p<.001). Participants in the Extended group with voucher costs exceeding $25 monthly averaged 20 weeks of continuous abstinence. CONCLUSIONS: Greater abstinence occurred during Extended VBRT, but providing a longer duration was not by itself sufficient to maintain abstinence after VBRT. However, if abstinence can be captured and sustained during VBRT, then providing longer durations may help increase the continuous abstinence that predicts better long-term outcomes.

Developing an evidence-based, multimedia group counseling curriculum toolkit.

Training community-based addiction counselors in empirically supported treatments (ESTs) far exceeds the ever-decreasing resources of publicly funded treatment agencies. This feasibility study describes the development and pilot testing of a group counseling toolkit (an approach adapted from the education field) focused on relapse prevention (RP). When counselors (N = 17) used the RP toolkit after 3 hours of training, their content adherence scores on "coping with craving" and "drug refusal skills" showed significant improvement, as indicated by very large effect sizes (Cohen's d = 1.49 and 1.34, respectively). Counselor skillfulness, in the "adequate-to-average" range at baseline, did not change. Although this feasibility study indicates some benefit to counselor EST acquisition, it is important to note that the impact of the curriculum on client outcomes is unknown. Because a majority of addiction treatment is delivered in group format, a multimedia curriculum approach may assist counselors in applying ESTs in the context of actual service delivery.

Is exposure to an effective contingency management intervention associated with more positive provider beliefs?

This study empirically examined opinions of treatment providers regarding contingency management (CM) programs while controlling for experience with a specific efficacious CM program. In addition to empirically describing provider opinions, we examined whether the opinions of providers at the sites that implemented the CM program were more positive than those of matched providers at sites that did not implement it. Participants from 7 CM treatment sites (n = 76) and 7 matched nonparticipating sites (n = 69) within the same nodes of the National Institute of Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network completed the Provider Survey of Incentives (PSI), which assesses positive and negative beliefs about incentive programs. An intent-to-treat analysis found no differences in the PSI summary scores of providers in CM program versus matched sites, but correcting for experience with tangible incentives showed significant differences, with providers from CM sites reporting more positive opinions than those from matched sites. Some differences were found in opinions regarding costs of incentives, and these generally indicated that participants from CM sites were more likely to see the costs as worthwhile. The results from the study suggest that exposing community treatment providers to incentive programs may itself be an effective strategy in prompting the dissemination of CM interventions.

Resets do not appear to increase the rate of adverse events or prolong relapse in voucher-based reinforcement therapy.

Voucher-based reinforcement therapy (VBRT) is an efficacious contingency management intervention for substance use disorders that provides escalating voucher values to reinforce continuous abstinence and typically resets escalated values to the initial low level upon detection of drug use. The objective of this study involving 130 methadone-maintained outpatients receiving VBRT was to investigate whether resets (a) increase risk for adverse events (AEs) and (b) delay return to abstinence in relation to magnitude of voucher reset. Weeks following resets were examined for increased likelihood of AEs using a Poisson regression. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine if higher resets increased the number of days until a negative urine specimen. Results showed that resets did not increase the likelihood of AEs nor were higher resets related to an increased delay to abstinence. Research involving larger samples is needed to produce sufficient data directly addressing safety concerns of various treatment stakeholders.

Extended voucher-based reinforcement therapy for long-term drug abstinence.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether longer durations of voucher-based reinforcement therapy (VBRT) increase long-term abstinence compared to standard durations. METHODS: Cocaine-abusing or dependent methadone-maintenance patients (N = 130) were randomized to receive either Standard (12-week; n = 62) or Extended (36-week; n = 68) VBRT. Participants provided 3 urine samples weekly during VBRT, and each cocaine-negative sample produced a voucher exchangeable for goods and services. RESULTS: Extended VBRT produced longer durations of self-reported continuous abstinence during study Year 1 (M = 74 vs. 46 days; F(1,128) = 5.23, P = 0.024), but not during Year 2. However, each week of abstinence during Year 1 was associated with an increase of 9.19 days of abstinence during Year 2, regardless of study condition (t(1) = 4.92, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Longer-duration VBRT can increase abstinence during VBRT, but may not maintain it afterwards. However, longer during-treatment abstinence begets later abstinence suggesting that further research regarding this relationship is needed.

Professional demeanor of chronically unemployed cocaine-dependent methadone patients in a therapeutic workplace.

This study assesses the frequency that users of illicit drugs display unprofessional behaviors in an employment setting. This research was conducted in the therapeutic workplace, a model employment-based treatment program for chronically unemployed adults with long histories of illicit drug use in 2003. Fifty-three unemployed adults in methadone treatment, who were opiate and cocaine dependent, showed signs of injection drug use, and recently used cocaine were hired to work for 4 hours every weekday for 7 months. Results show that while the overall incidence of many undesirable behaviors is low, a small percentage of participants had serious workplace behavior problems that might limit their success in community workplaces. This study suggests that unprofessional behavior in the workplace could contribute to chronic unemployment in this population. The study's limitations are noted and future needed research is suggested.