The Effect of Treatment in a Therapeutic Community on Intravenous Drug Abuse

Abstract

All people admitted to a concept based therapeutic community during the first two years were followed up between two and four years after leaving residence. The frequency of drug injection before admission and during the follow-up period was investigated. There was a significant association between longer periods of residence and lower frequencies of subsequent drug injection. A group of residents who remained in treatment for longer than six months showed a significant reduction in frequency of drug injection compared to their own pre-admission levels.

The Design and Effectiveness of Therapeutic Community Research in Europe: An Overview

“…Wilson [54] found in 1978 a significant association between a longer length of stay in treatment and a lower frequency of subsequent drug injection. Residents with a length of stay of more than 6 months showed a significant reduction in the frequency of drug injection, compared with their behavior before admission in TC.…”

The Development of the Therapeutic Community in Correctional Establishments: A Comparative Retrospective Account of the ‘DEMOCRATIC’ Maxwell Jones TC and the Hierarchical Concept-Based TC in Prison

“…Several authors (Broekaert et al, 2000;De Leon, 2000;Jones, 1984Jones, & 1979Kennard, 1998;Sugarman, 1984;Wilson, 1978;Zimmer & Widmer, 1981; see also Lees, Manning & Rawlings, 1999) have stressed the existence of fundamental similarities and have remarked upon the growing relations between both TC-'traditions'. Jones (1979, p. 147) has written: 'It could be said that all the therapeutic communities described, both 'old' and 'new', have certain trends in common.…”