Substance abuse treatment with a proven track record for teens

The Georgetown University Adolescent Health Program is a brief, evidence-based, manualized substance abuse treatment program for DC-area adolescents. The program uses a treatment called Motivational Enhancement Therapy/Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-5 (MET/CBT-5). MET/CBT-5 is based on the premise that people are most likely to change when the motivation comes from themselves, rather than being imposed by an adult, parent or a therapist.

The program consists of a comprehensive evaluation, 5 individual sessions and 3 follow-up meetings over 12 months after treatment.  Parents attend three hours of family support meetings as a part of the program.  All treatment is free.

Treatment focuses on:

• Enhancing intrinsic motivation to change through exploring and resolving ambivalence.
• Providing feedback to encourage personal responsibility for change.
• Developing personal goals.
• Practicing healthful responses to real-life situations.

Some benefits that teens may receive from our treatment program:

• Development of personal goals
• Increased problem solving skills
• Better coping skills
• Effective refusal skills
• Development of  plans for drug-free activities
• Increased supportive social network ties
• Improved self-confidence for dealing with high-risk situations

Treatment Sites:

Georgetown University Medical Center on Reservoir Road in Georgetown. Free shuttle access from Dupont Circle metro.

Based on federally-funded national studies of Adolescent Substance abuse treatment:*

In a randomized national study of 600 adolescents in outpatient substance abuse treatment, the MET/CBT-5 treatment program demonstrated:

• Very positive overall effects as the  briefest form of treatment in the study
• Compared with treatments that were more than twice as long, MET/CBT-5  had higher rates of abstinence and recovery
• A 50% decrease in problems at 3 months and 25% reduction at 6 months after intake
• Some data to suggest that the positive results lasted for more than 2 years

Funding:

We are one of 22 sites supported by a three-year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,  Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. This project is under the direction of Principal Investigator Michael Mason, Ph.D.

More Information:

To find out more information or to begin the registration process, please call (202) 687-1696, or email: sk279@georgetown.edu

 

*As reported by Dennis, M. (2003).  Cannabis youth treatment (trials:  12 and 30 month main finding). Presentation for SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Treatment Grantee Meeting, Baltimore, MD, November 2003.

Project Staff

Principal Investigator:
Michael Mason, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Education & Human Services, Villanova University

Site Principal Investigator: Stacey Kaltman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Co-Investigator:
Leslie Walker, M.D.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Director of Adolescent Medicine

GIS Consultant:
Bangbo Hu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Geography, Villanova University

Research Consultant: Chamberlain Diala, Ph.D.
Project Director, ABT Associates

Project Manager/ Qualitative Evaluator:
Michelle Wilson

Senior Mental Health Therapist: Sherrine Brown

Mental Health Therapist: Sarah Brooks