Residential rehabilitation for drug users: a review of 13 months' intake to a therapeutic community

Abstract

Background: Residential rehabilitation based on ‘therapeutic community’ treatment for drug users is a treatment option which is attractive to GPs and others referring drug users for treatment. Whilst there is evidence that maintenance-based programmes for drug users are effective, there have been fewer attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of abstinence-based programmes which are relatively more intensive and expensive interventions.