Treatment of heroin addicts: is the client--therapist relationship important?

The purpose of this paper is to examine one variable in the treatment of heroin addiction, ther therapist-client relationship. Eighty-six individuals who were discharged from the Tulane NARA Drug Abuse Program were examined on 20 social and personality variables. The variable of the counselor--patient relationship was found important in the final outcome of treatment. Clients who had a single counselor throughout the entire course of treatment did significantly better (p less than .002) than their peers who were transferred from one counselor to another, suggesting that a stable client--therapist relationship greatly enhances the chances of the patient reaching drug abstinence and being rehabilitated.