Treatment

The Drug Court Model has proven successful. The following websites are good resources for treatment research information related to methamphetamine:

The Methamphetamine Family Treatment services program responds to the severe impacts that illicit methamphetamine laboratories have on children living in hazardous environments and who are often subject to neglect and abuse. The program works with the caregivers who have been determined to have a drug dependency problem due to methamphetamine use and where the custody of children is in question due to the drug dependency.

So-called "treatment courts" are an evolutionary progression of the drug courts that have spread across the nation.

• The majority of treatment programs in Washington State do not provide treatment services that specifically target meth users but rather cater to a combination of various stimulant abusers.

• Most of the treatment models targeting meth addicts combine elements from several treatment models (such as the Minnesota Model and Reality Therapy) that use strategies such as family therapy, group therapy, and 12-step abstinence-based programs with reality therapy techniques.

• Reality therapy elements help the patient reconnect with other people and their living environment in order to meet the basic human needs for survival, love, belonging, power, freedom, and fun.

• The most recognized model for treating meth addiction is the MATRIX Center model.  This model incorporates elements of behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, positive reinforcement, drug education, 12-Step relapse prevention, and family cooperation and focuses on a longer course of treatment.

• MATRIX participants indicate significant reductions in drug and alcohol use, improvements in psychological indicators, and reduced risky sexual behaviors associated with HIV transmission.

• According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and its Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, psychosocial treatment approaches that incorporate well established psychological principles of learning are appropriate for and effective in treating meth addiction and preventing relapses.

• Relapse prevention teaches clients critical skills to prevent resumption of use and minimize impacts of reuse, how to cope with cravings, how to use substance refusal assertiveness skills and general coping and problem solving skills, and how to apply strategies to prevent a full-blown relapse should an episode of substance use re-occur.

Children found in the homes of meth addicts may be neglected and are often found living in filthy, unsanitary conditions.

It is routine now for law enforcement to call in Child Protective Services (CPS) to intervene on behalf of these children and children are usually removed from the home until meth-addicted parents have stabilized and are no longer using drugs.

Below are recommended steps for family recovery:

• Remove the child

• Mandate the parent to undergo treatment

• Monitor the addict randomly during treatment using urine analysis to document that sobriety is being maintained

• After a period of sobriety has been established, continue monitoring and treatment as the family is reunited.

Child Protective Services’ (CPS) experience in working with meth addicts is that this process works best when inpatient services are provided for three to six months, and parents have demonstrated the ability to remain drug-free before family reunification takes place.