The Second Genesis research demonstration therapeutic community (TC) proposal seeks to ascertain whether any differences exist in treatment effects or outcomes between two residential therapeutic community control programs (traditional and medical model) and an experimental therapeutic community based on a six month residential/six month aftercare model. Comparisons between the experimental and control groups and a proposed waiting list group will be made at the time of admission and at six month intervals thereafter for the life of the project (proposed three years). A battery of psychological and physiological measures will be administered at the Diagnostic Unit prior to admission. The test battery will permit a comprehensive clinical assessment of each client admitted to the research study, and will also allow determination of the equivalence of the client samples selected for each facility through the computation of simple ANOVAs on the means and sigmas of all control and experimental group test data. The proposed experimental treatment program draws from Second Genesis' extensive clinical experience and internally generated research on the client population entering the publicly funded treatment system in the District of Columbia. The principles of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous provide a foundation for the program. The milieu is dynamic, with a moderated level of confrontation. Positive reinforcement, rather than the negative reinforcement of the traditional TC will underlie staff action. Services offered are based on state-of-the-art practices. Comprehensiveness of treatment is not compromised due to shortened length of stay. To accomplish this the proposed program utilizes a greater than typical number of staff overall and an increase in professional staff and the level of their treatment involvement.
