Methadone transition treatment: a treatment model for 180-day methadone detoxification

For those drug addicts who do not meet the United States federal government regulations for methadone maintenance, methadone detoxification remains the primary option for treatment. Studies on the effectiveness of 21-day methadone detoxification, however, report low completion rates and high relapse. Revisions to the standard 21-day detoxification are needed. The research literature suggests that offering psychosocial services within an extended 180-day protocol may be an effective mode of treatment for those addicts who do not meet the requirements for entering methadone maintenance, or do not desire maintenance. Methadone Transition Treatment (MTT) is an innovative treatment organized around this strategy. MTT is transitional in that emphasis is place on working with patients to enter longer-term treatment. To aid the development of similar programs at other institutions, we describe the specific procedures of the MTT model and provide an evaluation of the model based on findings from an initial pilot study.