Treatment of Drug Dependence: What Works

Abstract

While there is at this time no single treatment of drug dependence adequate for the majority of such patients, there are a variety of treatment approaches that can be utilized alone or in combination successfully to treat many of them. These have been summarized by drug. Some, like methadone maintenance, are applicable only to narcotic addicts while others, such as the residential therapeutic community and relapse prevention training, can be used for a wider variety of patients. Patients may need different approaches at different points in their drug using career and failure at any one time or with any one treatment should not be a cause to give up in despair on the patient.