Behavioral Couples Therapy for Female Drug-Abusing Patients

Harvard University185 enrolled

Overview

In treating drug addiction, many studies of male patients show Behavioral Couples Therapy (BCT) helps the whole family (the drug abuser, the relationship partner, and their children) and is more effective than typical individual and group counseling. Only one study of BCT has been done with female drug-abusing patients, and results were promising but not definitive. The proposed study will test with married or cohabiting female drug-abusing patients whether BCT will produce more positive outcomes for the women, their male partners, and their children than standard individual counseling for the patient alone.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

185

Conditions

Drug Abuse

Interventions

Behavioral Couples TherapyBEHAVIORAL

Behavioral Couples Therapy

Individual Drug CounselingBEHAVIORAL

Individual Drug Counseling

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * female patients with primary drug abuse diagnosis \& their relationship partners * patient married or cohabiting with relationship partner * partner without current alcohol or drug problem Exclusion Criteria: * both patient and partner without severe mental health disorders

Locations (1)

AdCare Hospital of Worcester Inc.

Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

percent days abstinent from illicit drugs

Time frame: 12 months

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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