19 Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Manuals for Download

I just got back from the 2010 Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness (JMATE) in Baltimore. I, along with other guest bloggers, will be passing on what was shared in the coming weeks. To start off, here's something Dr. Michael Dennis reminded me of while I was at the conference: Chestnut Health Systems has posted a ton of evidence-based, tested clinical protocols for treating adolescent substance abuse, all available for free download. 
Most treatment providers are aware of the Cannabis Youth Treatment (CYT) manuals:

• MET/CBT-5
• MET/CBT-7
• Family Support Network (FSN)
• Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (ACRA)
• Multi-Dimensional Family Therapy (MDFT) for Cannabis Users

>>Download them here.
Fewer are aware of the "Adolescent Treatment Models" research funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that followed on the heels of the CYT research. The basic idea was to see whether home-grown programs (vs. models created external to a specific agency) were more effective than "treatment as usual."

Ten programs were tested, and the bottom line was that yes, they were more effective than treatment as usual. The takeaway for me was that what mattered was to manualize your treatment protocol for consistency, and find ways to assure clinical fidelity. 
Curious about what programs were tested? Here they are: 

• Walking In Beauty on the Red Road: A Holistic Cultural Treatment Model for American Indian and Alaska Native Adolescents and Families  -- I hyperlinked this one specifically because it's so rare to see a treatment protocol designed for this population
• La Cañada: Adolescent Substance Abuse Step-Down Treatment Model
• Phoenix Academy Clinical Manual
• Dynamic Youth Community, Inc. A Therapeutic Community for Adolescents and Young Adults—Treatment Manual 
• Mountain Manor Treatment Center—Baltimore: Manual for a Short-Term Residential Treatment Program for Adolescent Substance Use Disorders 
• CHS Treatment Manual—Bloomington's Outpatient & Intensive Outpatient Treatment Model
• Group-Based Outpatient Treatment for Adolescent Substance Abuse (DRAFT)
• Thunder Road Treatment Manual: A Hybrid Therapeutic Community Treatment Model 
• Multidimensional Family Therapy for Early Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Manual
• EMPACT–Suicide Prevention Center—Teen Substance Abuse Treatment Program Treatment Manual

>>Download them here.
Seen all those? Wait! There's more ...

• The Assertive Continuing Care Protocol: A Clinician's Manual for Working with Adolescents After Residential Treatment of Alcohol and Other Substance Use Disorders (2nd Edition) -- to be used in conjunction with the ACRA manual above.
• Adolescent Portable Therapy: A Practical Guide for Service Providers  -- you can learn more from the Vera Institute of Justice about this approach developed specifically for youth in (or at risk of entering) the juvenile justice system.
• The Seven Challenges® Manual -- a number of Reclaiming Futures sites use this system-wide. 
• Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS)® Manual - Trauma. Schools. Enough said. 

>>Download them here.
Other resources:

• Check out this reference list of evidence-based treatment programs to explore some of the programs and models that are out there.
• NIATx offers many tools to help improve adolescent treatment programs. Here's a handy overview of some of those resources.
• The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) provides five T.A. "packages" that bolster the effectiveness of your adolescent substance abuse treatment program.
• The MacArthur Foundation's evidence-based practice recommendations for juvenile drug courts focuses on improving alcohol and drug treatment, among others.
• This post highlights research from the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) about best practices in implementing an EBP.

 
Photo: austinevan.