Does increasing the opportunity for counseling increase the effectiveness of outpatient drug treatment ?

FRANÇAIS :
Les résultats de lévaluation dun projet de villes cibles mené à Los Angeles montrent que ce programme augmente la participation des patients à un accompagnement individuel et de groupe, phénomène qui ne peut être attribué aux caractéristiques personnelles des patients. De plus, lintensité de laugmentation de laccompagnement en groupe ou individuel, était suffisante pour augmenter lefficacité totale du programme. Ces résultats confirment lopinion largement répandue parmi les intervenants en toxicomanie de limportance de la fréquence de laccompagnement dans la prise en charge des usagers de drogues. Ils suggèrent que les intervenants devraient encourager et faciliter la participation à laccompagnement individuel et de groupe. Laugmentation de lopportunité de laccompagnement, favorise la participation du patient à laccompagnement et de ce fait élève lefficacité des traitements ambulatoires.
ENGLISH :
Increasing the opportunity for group and individual counseling in outpatient drug treatment programs could increase client participation in counseling which, in turn, may enhance prograin effectiveness. Findings from the evaluation of the Los Angeles Target Cities Enhancement Project indicate that the Target Cities programs successfully increased client participation in group and individual counseling - an increase that cannot be attributed to client characteristics. Further, the magnitude of the increase in group and individual counseling was sufficient to increase the overall effectiveness of Target Cities programs. These findings support the widely held contention among drug treatment providers and policy makers that frequent counseling is necessary for treatment success. They suggest that counselors and other service providers should encourage and facilitate frequent participation in group and individual counseling. Most importantly, the findings indicate that increasing the opportunity for group and individual counseling will increase client participation in counseling, and this increased participation will elevate the overall effectiveness of outpatient drug treatment. (Author' s abstract)