Multimedia Toolkits to Implement 12-Step Recovery Concepts in Group Counseling

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Abstract - There are well documented challenges in adapting evidence based practices to fit the real world of substance abuse treatment programs. Most practices require more training and supervision than is practical for community-based treatment programs. Faced with a similar problem in the teaching profession, educational researchers have divided new and complex topics into key elements teachable in single sessions using multimedia resources (video, audio) and pre-packaged teaching aids to engage participants and stimulate class discussion. Session materials are packaged in an appealing, multi-use "toolkit" to assist teachers in delivering complex information accurately with minimal instruction or supervision. We propose to translate this approach to the addiction treatment field: We will develop, implement and test the conceptual fidelity, practical utility, and attractiveness of a curriculum of toolkits to help substance abuse counselors deliver group sessions on empirically derived 12-Step recovery topics including finding meetings and a home group, active participation in 12-Step groups, addressing misconceptions and barriers to participation, and others. We will randomly assign 80 counselors from 10 inpatient treatment programs to either treatment-as- usual (TAU) or the Toolkits group (TK). TK counselors will receive four "toolkits" - one on each of four 12-Step topics - each containing a brief DVD where actors illustrate the group topic, and assorted easy-to-use teaching aids, all packaged in a plastic kit (literally, a tool-kit). Content on these evidence-based 12-step topics will be based on widely used manuals e.g., NIAAA Therapy Manuals, SAMHSA TIPS and Project MATCH Manuals and strategies that have been shown to effectively promote 12-Step participation. Counselor outcome domains tap into accepted constructs of program implementation: adherence, quality, dose, and participant responsiveness. We will audiotape and rate all counselors conducting group sessions on the four 12-Step topics in our curriculum before the intervention and again, on the same topics, 1 and 6 months later (N=960 sessions) to compare concept fidelity and general skills between the study groups and within groups, over time. Counselors will also rate the toolkits' acceptability and value, and report monthly on their toolkit utilization for 12 months post-intervention. In addition to counselor assessments, we will collect satisfaction with the four 12-Step Recovery sessions (N=2,400) and track a subsample of patients (N = 400, 200 TK and 200 TAU/Control) who screen positive for alcohol problems. Patient 12-Step participation (meeting attendance and 12-Step recovery involvement) at 1-, 3- and 6-months post treatment will be compared between study conditions; these data will speak to the ultimate efficacy of the intervention to promote post-treatment 12-Step participation. If successful, this innovative, easy to use and cost effective method of technology transfer could help engineer evidence based concepts and information into science-base, validated clinical tools that will fit within the resource-challenged environment of contemporary substance abuse treatment programs.