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Abstract
Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of a specialist stimulant clinic in terms of changes in stimulant use, motivation, and drug beliefs at post‐treatment, and describe patients' experience of the clinic.
Design and participants: A retrospective review of 122 past patients' case files and a cross‐sectional semi‐structured interview with five current patients.
Measurements: Data was collected on demographic characteristics; stimulant and other drug use history, drug belief scores, motivational ratings, and patients' experience of the treatment service.
Findings: On exit from treatment, patients reduced their drug use, were more motivated to change their drug‐related behaviours and had less dysfunctional drug beliefs. All five current patients reported a positive experience of the treatment service.
Conclusion: This study provides the first direct evidence for the effectiveness of the specialist stimulant clinic in terms of positive treatment outcomes. These findings are very encouraging and demonstrate that stimulant services, which provide psychological interventions, can be effective in ‘typical’ clinical settings.