A Comparison of Long-Term and Short-Term Residential Treatment Programs for Dual Diagnosis Patients

Abstract

The authors compared measures of process and six-month outcomes for 45 individuals who were treated in a long-term residential treatment program for patients with dual diagnoses with measures for 39 individuals who were treated in a short-term program. They also compared outcomes for individuals within each group. Those who received long-term treatment experienced improvements between entry into the program and six-month follow-up, and they were more likely to have engaged in treatment than individuals in the short-term group. At follow-up, individuals in the long-term residential treatment group were more likely to have maintained abstinence and less likely to have experienced homelessness than those in the short-term group.

Growth and Empowerment for Indigenous Australians in Substance Abuse Treatment

“…living within a residential treatment program). Residential treatment settings entail limited contact with everyday stressors, and provide a relatively safe and structured environment, scheduled activities to promote participation, as well as educational activities and skills enhancement (Brunette et al 2001(Brunette et al , 2004. Many of the items on the Inner Peace subscale may have been responded to positively by participants due to the physical and practical confines of their environment.…”

A systematic review of psychosocial research on psychosocial interventions for people with co-occurring severe mental and substance use disorders

“…The findings on substance use outcomes were not entirely consistent, with only seven studies showing significant improvements for the experimental group. However, the longer term studies did consistently find positive outcomes related to substance use, and Brunette et al (2001) showed that long-term residential treatment was more enduringly effective than short-term residential treatment on substance use outcomes. The long-term studies also consistently showed positive effects on other outcomes.…”

Treating Homeless Clients with Severe Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders: Costs and Outcomes

“…Researchers and program developers should also consider combining integrated treatment with other intervention strategies that may produce quicker and higher rates of recovery. In particular, residential and supportive housing arrangements (Bassuk, 2003;Brunette, Drake, Woods, & Hartnett, 2001;, certain psychotropic medications (see Drake et al, 2001a), contingency management, and community reinforcement approach (Smith & Myers, 1995) appear to be promising partners for inclusion with integrated treatment. Combining various treatment approaches may lead to even more effective and less costly services for this vulnerable population of people with severe mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse disorders.…”