A new, novel approach to treating women with concurrent drug addiction, abuse and mental health disorders showed promise during a six-year study. The Boston Consortium Model (BCM) was reviewed for two years by a panel of addiction and mental health experts.
According to Hortensia Amaro, the BCM approach is unique because it connects the links in a patient’s life experience.
"Women with drug addiction disorders have high rates of mental illness and a history of childhood and adult physical and sexual abuse, which are often both precursors to and consequences of drug abuse," Amaro said. Amaro led the BCM research and program development.
The BCM has, at its core, a multi-pronged approach, much like the treatment program at The Treatment Center www.thetreatmentcenter.com/dual-diagnosis. The BCM model includes pharmacological and behavioral treatment for addiction, mental illness and trauma. Women attend leadership workshops, financial planning seminars, and parenting skills classes designed to assist with their recovery.
The women who participated in the integrated BCM program showed excellent long-term progress compared to those who had undergone traditional substance abuse treatment. BCM patients reported less mental health and post-traumatic stress symptoms, fewer HIV risk behaviors and better decision making skills after completion of the program. BCM participants also had higher drug abstinence rates.
"The unique practice-research partnership between the commission and the institute allowed us to create and test this model," said Rita Nieves, the Boston Public Health Commission’s director of the Bureau off Addiction Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Support Services.
At The Treatment Center www.thetreatmentcenter.com we believe that the key to recovery encompasses the whole you – physical, mental and spiritual health. Our program incorporates state-of-the-art medical treatment along with alternative treatments like acupuncture, massage therapy, yoga and spiritual therapy.
