NCT00286728

Dual Diagnosis Self-Help Referral

Dual Diagnosis Self-Help Group Referral: Outcomes and Services Use

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 287 (actual)
• Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development · Federal
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This project will help counselors in substance abuse treatment programs make effective referrals of dually diagnosed patients (those with a co-occurring psychiatric disorder) to self-help groups.

Detailed description

Background: Dual diagnosis (psychiatric and substance use) patients' (DDPs) participation in 12-step mutual-help groups is linked to lower relapse and treatment utilization rates. However, under usual referral, many DDPs do not attend, or sustain attendance of, substance-focused groups (SFG). DDPs may benefit from dual-focused groups (DFGs). Objectives: (1) Implement and validate procedures to help counselors make effective referrals to DFGs. DDPs were assigned to a standard- or intensive-referral to DFG condition to determine the extent to which intensive referral, compared to standard referral, increased patients' mutual-help group participation. (2) Determine whether DDPs who received intensive referral had better substance use and psychiatric outcomes. Methods: DDPs entering VA outpatient mental health treatment received either standard (N=145) or intensive (N=142) referral. Standard referral consisted essentially of the counselor recommending DFG participation. The keys to intensive referral were a DFG orientation and the counselor facilitating direct contact between the patient and a DFG member, and following up on recommendations for mutual help. Patients were followed at six months (80%), one year (81%) and two years (80%) to determine whether intensive referral resulted in more DFG and SFG participation, and better substance use and psychiatric outcomes. Status: Completed.

Conditions

• Dual Diagnosis

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Intensive referral to dual-focused self-help	4 group sessions to introduce patients to dual focused groups

Timeline

• Start date: 2006-04-01
• Primary completion: 2010-09-01
• Completion: 2010-09-01
• First posted: 2006-02-03
• Last updated: 2019-05-08
• Results posted: 2014-10-06

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States