The results of drug dependence treatment by therapeutic community in Thanyarak Institute on Drug Abuse.

A study of drug dependence treatment by therapeutic community (TC) in Thanyarak Institute on Drug Abuse from 1986 to 2000 was undertaken. 2,881 cases joined the TC program during this period (males 2,471 or 85.8%, females 410 or 14.2%). There were 278 cases who completed the TC program (males 261 or 93.9%, females 17 or 6.1%). The program course is at least one and a half year. The average duration of treatment in TC for the completion group was 27.6 +/- 7.1 months. The mean age was 30.9 +/- 6.4 years. About half of them had had a high school education. The majority (84.6%) of them were i.v. heroin addicts. The average drug-use duration was 9.8 +/- 5.7 years. After they completed the program, the clients were followed-up for five years. 203 cases (73.0%) were abstinent from drugs. Of this figure 21 cases (7.6%) had died during the follow-up from illness and accidents not directly related to relapsing to drugs. 75 cases (27.0%) relapsed to drugs. There were no significant differences between the abstinent and relapse cases in age, education, marital status, characteristic of addiction, previous treatment data and I.Q. Duration of treatment in the abstinent cases was longer (3.7 months) than the relapse cases. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were found in some personality characteristics. The relapse cases were neurotic-introversion personality type and had abnormal scores with low or high scores in hypersensitive character. They were likely to be easily stimulated to go back to using drugs. Although the TC program required much time and material resources to operate, the results of treatment were highly effective. The results of this study provide the rational to expand this TC program in order to provide more opportunities to the increasing demands for an effective treatment intervention for Thai addicts.