Effects of intensive counseling on client outcome in a methadone maintenance program

This program evaluation examines intensification of rehabilitation services in an existing Methadone Maintenance Treatment Program (MMTP). The investigation includes a description of initial organizational problems, of the strategy and tactics used, and of formal and informal forces used to implement specific changes. Data specific to counseling services and client treatment goals were gathered and analyzed over a 14-month period of time for 35 MMTP clients. The tendency of the variables to increase over the 14-month time period was significant (p less than .05). The following trends were found: (1) clients' dosage of methadone reduced over time, (2) clients' progressed toward drug-free life-style changes over time, and (3) the intensification of counseling was associated with a reduction of the frequency of chemical abuse of clients.