VA Bedford Health Care System, VISN 1 New England MIRECC.
National VHA Vocational Rehabilitation Service, VA Central Office.
Psychol Addict Behav. 2022 Mar;36(2):117-120. doi: 10.1037/adb0000753.
This article presents the argument that all veterans engaged in substance use treatment, regardless of current or recent use, should be allowed access to vocational services through Veterans Affairs (VA). This argument is presented as a commentary to Cosottile and DeFulio (2020), who argue for the VA to restrict veteran's access to work and Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) transitional work (TW) services to those who have demonstrated abstinence from substances.
Our commentary provides an overview of relevant literature and programmatic considerations.
The VA previously had common practice of restricting access to CWT TW services based on demonstrated sobriety and now has explicit policies and guidance against this practice. Research demonstrates that employment is an important recovery goal, that employment and substance use influence one another (both positively and negatively), and that substance use does not detract from employment outcomes of individuals participating in vocational rehabilitation services.
Work activity is not simply a means or incentive for achieving sobriety. Employment is a critical component of recovery that supports a healthy sober lifestyle. Vocational services can be successfully integrated into substance use treatment without restricting access to those who have demonstrated sobriety. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
本文提出了一个观点，即所有参与物质使用治疗的退伍军人，无论目前是否使用，都应被允许通过退伍军人事务部（VA）获得职业服务。这一观点是对 Cosottile 和 DeFulio（2020）的评论，他们认为 VA 应该限制退伍军人获得工作和补偿性工作治疗（CWT）过渡性工作（TW）服务的机会，只限于那些已经证明戒除物质的人。
我们的评论提供了相关文献和计划考虑的概述。
VA 以前曾有根据清醒状态限制 CWT TW 服务的常见做法，现在有明确的政策和指导反对这种做法。研究表明，就业是一个重要的康复目标，就业和物质使用相互影响（积极和消极），并且物质使用不会影响参与职业康复服务的个人的就业结果。
工作活动不仅仅是实现清醒的手段或激励。就业是康复的一个关键组成部分，支持健康的清醒生活方式。职业服务可以成功地融入物质使用治疗，而不限制那些已经证明清醒的人的机会。（PsycInfo 数据库记录（c）2022 APA，保留所有权利）。
