The Matrix Model: Intensive Outpatient Alcohol and Drug Treatment is a 16- week individualized program that has been continuously adapted and revised over the last two decades in order to give chemically dependent persons and their families the most thorough and up-to-date knowledge, structure, education and support possible so they might achieve long-term recovery from drug and alcohol dependence. It is the only specific comprehensive treatment program noted as a scientifically based approach in NIDA's Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide (1999), and the Matrix Adolescent Treatment Model is recognized as an exemplary treatment approach in Drug Strategies' Treating Teens (2003).

Meth addicts excel with Matrix
In addition to the numerous accolades the Matrix Model has earned over the years, it has also proven especially effective in recent studies on methamphetamine treatment. In particular, in CSAT's Methamphetamine Treatment Project--the largest multi-site, randomized clinical trial of treatment for meth dependence to date--reported that those who were assigned to Matrix treatment:

• attended more clinical sessions
• stayed in treatment longer
• provided more meth-free urine samples during the treatment period
• had longer periods of methamphetamine abstinence than those assigned to receive treatment as usual.

One author of the Matrix Model, Richard A. Rawson, PhD, the country's leading authority on methamphetamine, is the Consensus Panel Chair for CSAT's Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) 33 Treatment for Stimulant Use Disorders. In this government publication, the Matrix Model is recognized as the model that "integrates treatment elements from a number of specific strategies, including relapse prevention, Motivational Interviewing, psychoeducation, family therapy, and Twelve Step program involvement."

Since Hazelden has long been a leading publisher of hands-on educational and treatment materials for both clinicians and their clients, it makes perfect sense that it would partner with the Matrix Institute to publish the comprehensive Matrix Model curriculum.

"Most intensive outpatient treatment programs engage patients in therapeutic process groups," explained Richard Solly, senior acquisitions editor and supervisor of Treatment and Corrections Content at Hazelden Publishing and Educational Services. "The Matrix Model works as well as it does because groups are mostly educational; the model helps patients understand addiction as a brain disease and integrates Twelve Step recovery into its cognitive behavioral approach. In this program, patients with stable recovery work in conjunction with therapists as co-leaders so patients can receive immediate feedback, guidance and hope from someone who has been through what they're going through."

The components of the Matrix Model include:

• Therapist's manual
• Reproducible worksheets and handouts (also available on a CD)
• Three videos
• A research CD containing journal articles of many of the Matrix Model studies conducted over the last 20 years
• "Clean and sober" stickers for patients to track their abstinence on calendars
• Journal article about the Methamphetamine Treatment Project, "A multi-site comparison of psychosocial approaches for the treatment of methamphetamine dependence."
• The Family Unit: A 12-Session Alcohol and Drug Education Program for Patients and Families is also available for purchase as a separate product.
• Six additional Hazelden videos are also available at a discounted price with the purchase of the entire Matrix curriculum.

The curriculum addresses core clinical areas within five groups:

• Weekly Individual/Conjoint sessions consist of eight one-hour meetings for the first two months and then once monthly for the next two months (although additional sessions may be necessary for some patients). Conjoint sessions are designed to orient the patient and, when possible, family members to the intensive outpatient (IOP) approach and to encourage treatment compliance.
• The Early Recovery Skills Group meets twice weekly and consists of eight one-hour sessions during the first month of treatment. Here, patients are introduced to basic cognitive behavioral interventions and the value of Twelve Step participation. Because structure is so important, patients are taught to schedule and document each day of sobriety.
• Patients and family members attend the Family Education Group weekly for 90-minute sessions over the first three months. Three videos and a facilitator's guide provide extensive information about addiction, treatment and recovery. Participants are taught how alcohol and drug abuse changes the way their brains function, and exercises take these neurobiological changes into account.
• The Relapse Prevention Group meets twice weekly for 16 weeks to deliver information, support and camaraderie to patients as they proceed through the recovery process.
• Patients who have attained a stable recovery and have completed 12 weeks or more of the Matrix IOP program meet weekly in the Social Support Group. For many patients, this group extends well beyond the initial 16 weeks of treatment.

The Matrix Model also calls for weekly urine testing as part of its overall structure. "This is not employed as a punitive measure," said Solly. "Urine testing is used as a valuable clinical tool that can assist recovery, and it contributes positively to the relationship between the patient and the therapist."

Complementary products
Hazelden Publishing and Educational Services will publish additional stand-alone products that complement the Matrix Model. They are:

• Clinician's Guide for Methamphetamine by Richard A. Rawson, PhD, Jeanne L. Obert, MFT, MSN, Michael McCann, MA, and Patricia Marinelli-Casey, PhD.
• The Science of Methamphetamine: An Informed Recovery video
• Family Unit: A 12-Session Alcohol and Drug Education Program for Patients and Families
• Stages of Family Recovery video

It is recommended that those who implement Matrix IOP receive appropriate training and support in order to attain the most effective outcomes and ensure efficacy of the model. Such training can be arranged through the Matrix Institute or Hazelden Publishing.

"The Matrix Model has been translated into four languages and has received national and international attention," said Solly. "Publishing it helps secure Hazelden's position as a leading publisher of evidenced-based treatment."

For more information on the Matrix Model, call 800-328-9000 and ask for sales rep Steve Manganiello at ext. 4688, or visit www.hazelden.org/matrix.

Published in The Voice, Winter 2005