FAQ: What Helps People Stay in Drug Treatment?

5. What helps people stay in drug addiction treatment?

Since successful outcomes often depend upon retaining the person long enough to gain the full benefits of drug addiction treatment, strategies for keeping an individual in the program are critical. Whether a patient stays in treatment for drug addiction depends on factors associated with both the individual and the program. Individual factors related to engagement and retention include motivation to change drug-using behavior, degree of support from family and friends, and whether there is pressure to stay in treatment for the addiction from the criminal justice system, child protection services, employers, or the family. Within the program, successful counselors are able to establish a positive, therapeutic relationship with the patient. The counselor should ensure that a treatment plan is established and followed so that the individual knows what to expect during treatment. Medical, psychiatric, and social services should be available.

Whether a patient stays in treatment for a drug addiction depends on factors associated with both the individual and the program

Since some individual problems (such as serious mental illness, severe cocaine or crack use, and criminal involvement) increase the likelihood of a patient dropping out, intensive treatment with a range of components may be required to retain patients who have these problems. The provider then should ensure a transition to continuing care or "aftercare" following the patient's completion of formal treatment.

Source: National Institute of Drug Abuse, "Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide."

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