Research and treatment: the need for a combined effort

Institutional, ideological, practical, and logistical constraints have impeded treatment research efforts in the substance abuse fields. There is a need for innovation in the design and conduct of treatment research studies, including studies that are less restrictive of therapists' judgments and more sensitive to individual client differences. Among the advantages of a greater collaboration between clinicians and researchers are the facilitation of research on the matching of clients to treatments and the enhanced impact of research findings on clinical practice.