A South African outpatient drug treatment centre

The Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre is an outpatient drug treatment service which has been operational since 1985. Statistics obtained from 1990 are detailed, describing patient characteristics in respect of referral sources, age, sex, occupational status, educational level and drugs abused. The typical client profile that emerges is of a young employed male of limited education, referred from a non-professional source, who smokes cannabis alone or with methaqualone (Mandrax). Management of clients, which includes psychotherapy with an emphasis on group-work and medical intervention, is described, and proposed areas for further research are outlined.