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Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) 42 was developed in response to the recognized prevalence of co-occurring disorders (COD) and research showing the failure of treatment informed by either a mental health or addiction model of change (Drake, Mueser, Brunette, & McHugo, 2004; Hendrickson, Schmal, & Ekleberry, 2004). Based on the work of a consensus panel that gathered information from evidence-based treatment research and clinical practice, TIP 42 has the goal of presenting a "slate-of-the-art" integrated treatment model. In creating TIP 42, two questions were kept in mind: "What does the clinician need to know?" and "How can information be conveyed in a manner that makes it readily accessible?"(CAST, 2005a, p. 17). This critique examines the success of TIP 42 in addressing these questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether a multidisciplinary residential treatment program for eating disorders had a positive impact in the recovery of 107 individuals (72 females and 35 males) diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (AN) in the presence and absence of comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) and to explore gender differences in the response to treatment. Residential treatment used concurrent psychotherapy, which combines group, family, and individual therapies in a multidisciplinary approach. The results show that symptoms of depression decreased and weight increased during treatment in all patients groups. Symptoms were more severe in individuals with comorbid OCD and improvements were more pronounced in males compared to females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A psychologically based vocational rehabilitation group treatment manual for dually diagnosed clients is described. This treatment is a unique blend of the psychosocial recovery model, principles of rehabilitation, and psychological theory and techniques used in chemical dependence treatment (motivational enhancement, relapse prevention, harm reduction, and transtheoretical stages of change). Integrating vocational rehabilitation into programs dealing with dually diagnosed individuals has, up to now, been done largely through sheltered or supported employment programs. This treatment model instead provides a psychologically based group model of vocational rehabilitation that can be integrated into dual-diagnosis programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutual-help groups (MHGs), such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), have been shown to be helpful to a broad range of individuals suffering from substance use disorders (SUD). However, for the substantial number of SUD individuals suffering from co-occurring psychiatric conditions, purely substance-focused groups, such as AA, may not be as good a fit. Consequently, MHGs have emerged that focus more explicitly on both substance use and other psychiatric concerns. In this review, we describe, compare, and discuss the four largest "dual-focused" mutual-help organizations and examine the evidence for any incremental benefit they may offer dually diagnosed individuals. We also provide evidence-based recommendations for ways in which clinicians can facilitate patients' participation in these groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As governments, industry bodies, and other interest groups become more adept at influencing the conduct and dissemination of research, it is increasingly important that the alcohol and other drug (AOD) sector maintains and protects the integrity of its evidence base. This commentary discusses the level and type of influence being exerted on the research process by different interest groups within the field. It explores the impact and influence of funding bodies, other interest groups, and social systems on addiction and recovery using relevant examples to identify questions for practitioners and researchers to consider when encountering interested parties in their day-to-day practice. Ultimately, it is service users and clinicians at the "front line" of recovery who have the most to lose from research findings that have been unduly influenced. The best protection against bias in these forms is to practice critical self-reflection and to keep openly and honestly debating those things that we find most challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research study sought to interpret and strove toward understanding the lived experience of 10 recovering individuals who left the 12-step fellowship and found themselves embarking on a second-stage recovery process. Through a phenomenological inquiry, 11 clusters of themes were illuminated. These themes highlighted the initial importance of the 12-step fellowship, participants break with the fellowship, the identification and working on dry-drunk issues, the process of charting an independent recovery, and the benefits of maturing in second stage recovery. Clinical implications from this inquiry suggest that second stage recovery may be a necessary step for individuals who are no longer growing in the 12-step fellowship and for those who sobriety is strong, but want a more autonomous and diversified recovery program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dance/movement therapy group in a jail addictions program offers a mind-body approach in dealing with issues and behaviors associated with addiction, including violence, trauma, and shame. This article includes specific examples of using dance/movement therapy to support recovery, with first-person narratives that detail therapeutic strategies. For inmates in a jail addictions program, this creative arts-therapy approach offers specific, anecdotal benefits that warrant further qualitative research-in particular, research on potential long-term impacts, such as reducing recidivism rates. Experiential and physical paradigms not only help participants integrate what is being learned but also help them practice alternative behaviors (safely) in response to intolerable feelings. Shame is at the center of any picture of addiction and thus is an important theme in this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TheCenter for the Study of Addiction and Recovery (CSAR) (a Center within the College of Human Sciences at Texas Tech University, TTU), has developed a comprehensive Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC). This community provides a model of support and relapse prevention for college students recovering from addictive behaviors—primarily alcohol/drug addiction. This model is specifically targeted for implementation in the college/university setting and has been used at TTU for 20 years. The purpose of this paper is to briefly review the literature related to substance use among college-aged individuals, discuss the challenges of recovery within this population, describe existing collegiate programs, and provide an extensive description of the CRC model. The CRC model specifically incorporates recovery support, access to higher education/educational support, peer support, family support, and community support/service in an effort to help individuals attain what we describe as systems-based sustained recovery. Preliminary evidence of success indicates that support services offered by the CRC work for the current population as evidenced by an average relapse rate of only 8%, a graduation rate of 70%, and an average GPA of 3.18 among members. Limitations of themodel and plans for future research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participation of young people in recovery support meetings is a promising yet largely understudied area. This article reviews the history of youth involvement in meetings, summarizes current research, and discusses issues to consider when making referrals. Professionals may want to research local meetings, help young people structure time before and after meetings, become familiar with group customs, investigate a variety of support groups, interact with support group service structures, develop a list of reliable group members to connect youths to the recovering community, and implement assertive referral strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescent substance use remains a persistent and serious problem in society despite use patterns showing consistent declines in alcohol and other illicit drug use since 2000. This paper provides an overview of the somewhat confusing landscape of substance-use treatment options available to families and professionals seeking treatment services. A case study is presented illustrating one treatment option, termed outdoor behavioral healthcare, to highlight one example of alternative treatment and educational program that has developed in recent years to meet increased demand for services. Conclusions developed from a review of treatment service availability and research conducted on the effectiveness of treatment suggest that alternative treatments for adolescents should continue to be identified, developed and evaluated using suggestions put forth by researchers in the area of substance-abuse treatment research to increase the likelihood that adolescents who need treatment services are getting those services in a timely, effective, and safe manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than 25 years, I served Brown University as Associate Dean with Special Responsibilities in the Area of Chemical Dependency, a long title, but one in which, in those early days, each word had its own political value: the idea of this deanship was without precedent, and questions of turf were a big concern. The status of "associate," for example, made clear that others of higher rank exercised some authority. (Happily, over the years, my supervision was always supportive, trusting and even distant.) "Special" suggested that my responsibilities did not include medical matters addressed in the Brown Medical School and that still other departments had responsibilities in the alcohol and drug area. "In the area" made clear that my own purview had considerable range—academic affairs, athletics, faculty matters, personnel, student life—and was not merely clinical. At the outset, few—locally or nationally—were paying attention to alcohol and other drug issues on campus. I was a full professor in Classics and an alumnus familiar to and with my institution. I was also five years sober. Brown had welcomed a new president that year, an experienced college administrator from Minnesota, Howard Swearer, who, eager to create a program to assist alcohol-troubled faculty, initiated the Associate Deanship/Chemical Dependency. This was a quarter-time position with a modest budget; the additional three-quarters involved responsibility formore strictly academic issues, for example, advising, monitoring academic honesty. From the start I broadened Swearer's mandate to include work with members of the staff and especially graduate and undergraduate students, who were to become my most numerous clients. I assumed the Associate Deanship in 1977, retiring in July 2003. In this presentation I will limit my remarks to interactions with students, and place particular emphasis on the use of alcohol, although other drugs were surely prominent in my work. "Student" here includes both undergraduate and graduate students, individuals of very different ages and of all races and sexual orientations. Most undergraduates matriculated immediately after high school, although some had been away from college for as long as twenty years when they returned to complete degree requirements. I emphasize counseling and leave to one side, for example, bibliotherapy and generally leave unremarked commentary on interactions with other individuals and offices on campus—chaplains, health educators, members of the faculty, psychologists, security officers—with whom I developed networks for information and support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a transcript of the step two of an online twelve-step support group meeting of recovering substance abuse students. In this step, the process is consistent with the understanding of the group having its own Higher Power determined by the group conscience according to the second of the Twelve Traditions of the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The chair of the meeting describes an operational definition of operational definition of Higher Power, which is that to which he can attribute the positive phenomena in his life.

The article presents a transcript of the step twelve of an online twelve-step support group meeting of recovering substance abuse students. In this meeting, the initial conversation expresses the attendees concern about the lack of participation by other on the previous meeting. It is also stressed that attending in the meeting is a form of service in carrying the message of recovery from addiction to professionals in the community. It is noted that the primary purpose of each of the twelve steps, it to strengthen and safeguard the individual's sobriety.

Objective: To describe the academic, life functioning, and drug use outcomes of students who participated in the StepUP recovery program, a college program designed to support sobriety for students recovering from substance abuse. Method: Eighty-three StepUP program students (46 current students and 37 alumni) participated in a survey using a slightly modified version of the Global Appraisal for Individual Needs (Dennis, 1998), which assesses drug involvement, mental health, and other life-functioning domains. In addition, a subset of 20 current students completed a second assessment approximately 6 months after the first. Results: The large majority of both current students and alumni reported that they abstained from alcohol and drug use, and that they regularly attended self-help groups. Perceived personal assets and social support were endorsed at high levels by the respondents, as were screens for mental health problems. Conclusions: Students involved in the StepUP program either currently or in the past were largely able to maintain sobriety, as well as a favorable GPA. StepUP students also endorsed a sizeable amount of assets and social support, which espouse the maintenance of sobriety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traci G. Bowermaster, Lead Teacher and Special Education Teacher at the Insight Program, a recovery high school in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, explains how her school was created and how it has evolved. Using the framework of many recovery stories, shewrites about howitwas in the early days of recovery schools before special education was emphasized, what happened that lead to the formation of her school, and what her school program is like now. She uses her unique perspective of having taught in a treatment center to explain the importance of incorporating strong special education programming in recovery high schools and illustrates the process her team used to form a recovery school with little financial means. Pitfalls along the way helped the Insight Program find its weak spots, eventually grow stronger, and create an ambitious vision for the program's future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recovery school movement exploded across the nation in the late nineties and early part of the twenty-first century. Secondary and postsecondary recovery schools have become a vital part of the chemical dependency continuum of care and our nation's educational system. Solace Academy is a restorative practices high school designed for recovering chemically dependent students. Through the collaboration of professionals in Carver and Scott Counties, the Carver-Scott Educational Cooperative's Solace Academy recovery high school opened its' doors in the fall of 2001. Appropriately colocated with other programs provided by the Carver-Scott Educational Cooperative, Solace Academy provides a high school education, life skills and support for its recovering chemically dependent students. Colocation has insulated the existence of Solace Academy by shared staff, increased academic opportunities and financial stability. A typical day at Solace Academy is like and unlike many high schools across the nation. These similarities and differences have provided many lessons during Solace Academy's tenure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a first person narrative of one teacher's experience in three different recovery schools over more than a decade of teaching. The author discusses some of the recurring challenges and successes encountered by many recovery high schools and discusses key concepts such as the importance of a clear school mission, the role of restorative practices in recovery education, successful classroom methods, and the importance of communication and support between recovery schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High schools specifically designed for students recovering from a substance use disorder (substance abuse or dependence) have been emerging as a continuing care resource since 1987. This study of 17 schools provides the first systematic description of recovery school programs and their students. The most common school model is that of a program or affiliated school, embedded organizationally and physically with another school or set of alternative school programs. Although embedded, there are serious efforts to maintain physical separation of recovery school students from other students, using scheduling and physical barriers. Affiliation with public school systems is the case for most recovery schools and seems to be a major factor in assuring fiscal and organizational feasibility. The students in the recovery high schools studied were predominantly White (78%), with about one-half from two parent homes. Overall parent educational levels suggest a higher mean socio-economic status (SES) than in the general population. Most students (78%) had prior formal treatment for substance use disorders, often concomitantly with treatment for mental health concerns, and were often referred by treatment providers. Students came with a broad and complex range of mental health issues, traumatic experiences, drug use patterns, criminal justice involvement, and educational backgrounds. The complexity of these problems clearly limits the enrollment capacity of the schools. Retrospective pretest-to-posttest analysis suggests significant reduction in substance use as well as in mental health symptoms among the students. Students were very positive in their assessment of the therapeutic value of the schools but less enthusiastic regarding the educational programs. The school programs appear to function successfully as continuing care to reinforce and sustain the therapeutic benefits students gained from their treatment experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a transcript of the step one of an online twelve-step support group meeting of recovering substance abuse students. In the step one process, students are to admit that they are powerless over alcohol and that their lives had become unmanageable. Each of the attendee students shares their experiences in the treatment centers for substance abuse and what they have been through. One describes the unmanageability of his addiction in terms of his inability to accept help and support, either from his parents or from the treatment center.

One of the central elements of 12-step recovery is the story. Every member of a 12-step group has one and is expected to share it. These stories are told in full "speaker" meetings, but also in increments as people share "experience, strength, and hope." The story of a "newcomer" evolves over time to become the fully developed story of an "old-timer." Gradually, stories stop emphasizing "how it was" and are able to focus more upon the lessons learned and "how it is today." One powerful aspect of recovery stories is that they tend to help the sobriety of both the listener and the teller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Al-Anon World Service Office recruited 11 experienced Al-Anon members to hold an online Al-Anon meeting in a chat room on the Web site of the primary author. A transcript of this meeting with commentary by the authors is published in its entirety in this paper. This transcript represents the first opportunity for a professional audience to have first-hand data about the process of a Twelve Step meeting without actually attending a face-to-face meeting. The paper also examines the implications of using the Internet for the purpose of supporting recovery from addiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A list of upcoming articles in volume 7, numbers 2-4 of the "Journal of Groups in Addiction & Recovery," is presented, on topics such as science-based recovery support for addiction recovery, Medication Mutual Support Groups, and ethnic-specific support systems for inner-city substance users.