NCJ Number
209136
Journal
Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly Volume: 22 Issue: 3/4 Dated: 2004 Pages: 141-160
Date Published
2004
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article describes the Arapahoe House’s New Directions for Families (NDF) program, an integrated family-oriented treatment program for women suffering substance abuse, mental illness, and trauma.
Abstract
The program, offered in Colorado, integrates a treatment approach with life skills development in order to encourage long-term self-sufficiency and recovery. An integrated approach to recovery makes sense given the fact that many women in need suffer from histories of violence, alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems, and mental health disorders. Research has indicated that offering women in need integrated services that address their problems in a multidisciplinary and comprehensive way are likely to be more effective than fragmented programs that only address one of the many issues in these women’s lives. The NDF program incorporates several complementary approaches into its treatment philosophy: the stages of change model; motivational interviewing; cognitive-behavioral approach; solution-focused approach; and integrated services for substance dependence, mental illness, and trauma. The three phases of the NDF program intervention are described, which extend over approximately 8 months and include intensive treatment in phase 1, employment skills and relapse prevention in phase 2, and community reintegration in phase 3. The particular services offered by the NDF program consist of individual recovery services for AOD, mental health disorders, and trauma, as well as domestic violence programs, life skills, employment and vocational services, transportation, childcare, and social and family support. Some of the lessons learned by NDF staff are enumerated and include the importance of staff modeling healthy lifestyles and the need to address the needs of children, as well as mothers. Table, references