Social workers and other behavioral health professionals are likely to encounter individuals with substance use disorders in a variety of practice settings outside of specialty treatment. 12-Step mutual support programs represent readily available, no cost community-based resources for such individuals; however, practitioners are often unfamiliar with such programs. The present article provides a brief overview of 12-Step programs, the positive substance use and psychosocial outcomes associated with active 12-Step involvement, and approaches ranging from ones that can be utilized by social workers in any practice setting to those developed for specialty treatment programs to facilitate engagement in 12-Step meetings and recovery activities. The goal is to familiarize social workers with 12-Step approaches so that they are better able to make informed referrals that match clients to mutual support groups that best meet the individual’s needs and maximize the likelihood of engagement and positive outcomes.

This study examined whether level of exposure to Stimulant Abuser Groups to Engage in 12-Step (STAGE-12), a 12-Step facilitative therapy, is related to treatment outcome. Data were from a large National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) study comparing STAGE-12 combined with Treatment-as-Usual (TAU) to TAU alone. These analyses include only those randomized to STAGE-12 (n = 234). Assessments occurred at baseline and 30, 60, 90, and 180 days following randomization. High-exposure patients (n = 158; attended at least 2 of 3 individual, and 3 of 5 group, sessions), compared to those with less exposure (n = 76), demonstrated: (1) higher odds of self-reported abstinence from, and lower rates of, stimulant and non-stimulant drug use; (2) lower probabilities of stimulant-positive urines; (3) more days of attending and lower odds of not attending 12-Step meetings; (4) greater likelihood of reporting no drug problems; (5) more days of duties at meetings; and (6) more types of 12-Step activities. Many of these differences declined over time, but several were still significant by the last follow-up. Treatment and research implications are discussed.

ABSTRACT. Objective: Benefi ts of empirically supported interventions hinge on clinician skill, particularly for motivational interviewing (MI). Existing MI skill assessments are limited with respect to validity (e.g., self-report) and practicality (e.g., coding session tapes). To address these limitations, we developed and evaluated two versions of a webbased assessment of MI skills, the Computer Assessment of Simulated Patient Interviews (CASPI). Method: Ninety-six counselors from the community and 24 members of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) completed the CASPI (N = 120), in which they verbally responded via microphones to video clips comprising three 9-item vignettes. Three coders used an emergent coding scheme, which was compared with alternative MI skills measures. Results: CASPI demonstrated excellent internal consistency when averaging across two or three vignettes (α's = .86-.89). Intraclass correlations were above .40 for most items. Confi rmatory factor analyses supported a correlated three-factor model: MI-consistent, resistance-engendering, and global change talk orientation rating. Means and factor loadings were invariant across forms (i.e., the two alternative versions of CASPI), and factor loadings were invariant across subgroup (i.e., community counselor or MINT member). Test-retest reliability was good for MI-consistent and resistance-engendering scores (r = .74 and .80, respectively) but low for change talk orientation (r = .29) unless coder was taken into account (r = .69). CASPI showed excellent construct and criterion-related validity. Conclusions: CASPI represents a promising method of assessing MI skills. Future studies are needed to establish its performance in realworld contexts. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 73, 154-164, 2012)