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Mental health improvements of substance‐dependent clients after 4 months in a Therapeutic Community
Author(s) -
POLIMENI ANNEMAREE,
MOORE SUSAN M.,
GRUENERT STEFAN
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
drug and alcohol review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.018
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1465-3362
pISSN - 0959-5236
DOI - 10.1111/j.1465-3362.2010.00175.x
Subject(s) - minnesota multiphasic personality inventory , mental health , psychiatry , mania , clinical psychology , paranoia , psychology , therapeutic community , depression (economics) , medicine , personality , bipolar disorder , mood , social psychology , economics , macroeconomics
AbstractIntroduction and Aims. Odyssey House Victoria's Therapeutic Community (TC) accepts substance‐dependent clients, including those with co‐occurring mental health issues. American data suggest that TCs are effective in rehabilitating such clients; however, Australian research is limited. The aim of the study was to examine Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory‐2 (MMPI‐2) profiles of Odyssey House TC residents early in their residency and again after 4 months, to chart changes in MMPI‐2 profiles and compare them with norms for psychological health. Design and Methods. The sample comprised 351 clients who were part of the residential program between 1997 and 2007, and who remained in treatment at the TC for at least 4 months. They were administered the MMPI‐2 after 5 weeks in treatment and again after 4 months. Results. At the first assessment, the validity scales of the MMPI‐2 plus the clinical scales Depression, Psychopathic Deviate, Paranoia, Psychasthenia and Schizophrenia were in the clinical range. At the second assessment, mean scores on all clinical scales except Mania were significantly or near significantly lower and, except for Psychopathic Deviate, within the normal range. The validity scales also demonstrated improvement, although two of the three remained in the clinical range. Discussion and Conclusions. Results indicated that treatment within the TC over this time span was associated with improved mental health. The present study suggests that residential rehabilitation's holistic approach provides a suitable treatment model for clients with co‐occurring mental health and substance use disorders. [Polimeni A‐M, Moore SM, Gruenert S. Mental health improvements of substance‐dependent clients after 4 months in a Therapeutic Community. Drug Alcohol Rev 2010]