New Directions for Families

SUMMARY

In conjunction with the SAMHSA-funded Women with Co-Occurring Disorders and Violence Study, Arapahoe House refined and evaluated an intervention integrating treatment for substance dependence, mental illness, and trauma for women and their dependent children. The New Directions for Families program combines comprehensive residential and outpatient treatment with parenting and self-sufficiency skills development. The program provides gender-specific, culturally sensitive, and strengths-oriented services for families in a two-phase program over eight months. Services include treatment for individual recovery in each of the three problem areasmental health, alcohol and other drug abuse, trauma; basic needs of the family including employment; and social and family support systems. Consumers are involved in all aspects of the project-in designing and implementing the intervention and evaluation and in governing the project through participation on the project's local and national steering committees.

Key Words:

• Alcoholism
• drug abuse
• women
• physical abuse
• sexual abuse
• children
• residential