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Abstract
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Initial client assessment and treatment decisions are critical in determining a client's success with a substance abuse treatment program. But what criteria do professionals use to determine the appropriate treatment? These issues were the subject of this study.
Interviewers used a five-part in-depth interview protocol with twenty-five substance abuse specialists to determine the assessment criteria used to place clients in particular treatment modalities. The interviews consisted of five parts: (1) a review of recent clients' characteristics; (2) a discussion of five fictional client case descriptions; (3) an assessment factor ranking exercise; (4) a writing assignment designed to elicit key assessment questions from respondents; and (5) an exercise designed to determine how assessment results are used in the treatment placement process.
Data analysis revealed high congruence across the five different interview approaches, and the case study exercise produced a high degree of consistency among respondents' placement selections. The primary assessment criteria that professionals apply were as follows: past and present substance abuse; past treatment experiences (with special weight attributed to prior treatment failures); motivation for treatment; family and social networks, mental health problems; and treatment facilities' ability to address special client needs. |