Misrepresenting the Accomplishments of Treatment

Abstract

The term “chronic relapsing disorder/disease” is viewed as an unfortunate shorthand expression that does an injustice to the accomplishments of treatment patients and treatment providers, and inadequately describes the findings from treatment evaluation research. Studies are reported that make clear relapse is not an inevitable consequence of substance abuse treatment, while substantial reductions in drug use and crime are routinely obtained consequent to treatment. It is past time to retire a term whose only virtue is brevity, and whose vices risk harm to a treatment population that is already stigmatized and a treatment system that is under frequent pressure. Thus, retiring this term provides the important benefit of recognizing the real achievements in behavior change obtained by treatment clients in conjunction with their service providers.

Keywords:

• misrepresentation of treatment accomplishments
• treatment outcomes
• chronic relapsing disorder

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Patrick M. Flynn

Patrick M. Flynn, Ph.D., United States, is the Director of the Institute of Behavioral Research and a tenured Professor, and he also holds the Saul B. Sells Chair of Psychology at Texas Christian University. Dr. Flynn's research has focused on the effectiveness and benefits of treatment, and included clinical assessment, questionnaire development, multisite clinical trials, dissemination, and implementation in community-based programs in the United States, United Kingdom, and Italy, studies of organizational functioning and costs in outpatient treatments, and treatment services and outcomes research in community and correctional settings. He is a Fellow in the American Educational Research Association and in several divisions of the American Psychological Association, a frequent member and chair of federal grant review panels, serves on journal editorial boards, and a regular reviewer for professional journals. Since 1990, when he returned to the research environs, he has been the Principal Investigator/Project Director and Co-Director of national studies of substance abuse treatment.

Barry S. Brown

Barry S. Brown, Ph.D., United States, holds a faculty appointment with the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and from there has directed research projects on early retention, and treatment aftercare services and AIDS prevention in Baltimore. In 1993, he was a Visiting Senior Scientist with the Institute of Behavioral Research after serving 17 years with the National Institute on Drug Abuse where he headed a variety of research units. He continues to work with the IBR as an advisor and research collaborator on several NIDA-funded studies; he chaired the Steering Committees for the DATOS Project and the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS) in which IBR served as a collaborating research site. Dr. Brown has served on a number of editorial and advisory boards, and published more than 150 articles and chapters in the professional literature. He is also the author of the Mrs. Hudson of Baker Street mystery book series.