The Project MATCH

I will expand on this quote from Faulkner when I state my opinion on the applicability of how treatment programs operate before and after treatment in the USA. Suffice to say though, one of my informants, whom I grew very close to, told me this is why she gave up hope on ever getting “clean.” Basically, she just hated the way people looked at her after she completed treatment; she felt out of place and unsure of what to do or where to go next.

Research Problem
I am quite motivated to state this research problem; Motivational enhancement therapy (MET) Changing Addictive Behavior, (1999) pg. 47. The research revolving around this style of treatment condition includes assigning a patient four individual sessions in which therapists use principles of motivational psychology, rather than teaching coping skills. Plans regarding this research paper topic attempt to develop a plan that will help the patient stop drinking and help him/her to consider how alcohol affected life.

The methodology behind this theory was to encourage the patient to reduce addictive habits as to feeling they had to quit completely. Sustained improvements, abstinence from drinking, and interchangeable possibilities are three phrases that were included in the MATCH project regarding in patient/outpatient care, as well as aftercare treatment. One conclusion includes that individually delivered psychosocial treatments embodying very different treatment philosophies appear to produce comparably good outcomes.

Key Findings
The key elements include arguments against the Project MATCH style of treatment processing as topics such as consumer choice, self-selection, and assigned programs. The freedom behind this idea is eliminated by the MATCH program leaving a patient in a forced position or a position he/she does not want to exist in and may produce the type of anti-authority that has forced her/him away from treatment programs (Seligman, 1995).

The idea of being “comfortable” with a counselor or program that an addict applies him or herself to must be precluded with a choice of where the client is going. Client suitability, availability of relevant services, effort required for participation, as well as external mediated incentives are crucial elements of proper treatment programs (De Leon, 1998).

Harm Reduction
Five basic principles of harm reduction have been identified (Marlatt, 1996, 1998). Harm reduction shifts the focus of treatment from alcohol or drug use itself to the consequences or effects of the behavior.

A second principle is that this approach accepts alternatives to abstinence, such as needle exchange programs for IV users to limit HIV cases from rising due to shared drug paraphernalia.

A third topic includes the concept of a partnership or collaborative treatment service instead of an authoritarian style of treatment. The basics include having the user become a stakeholder in the program due to input or thoughts about a certain program.

The fourth principle characterizes the low threshold style of treatment that includes assisting the client at the current stage or “where they are” stage of the process.

The final principle is that harm reduction is based on compassionate pragmatism rather than moral idealism. This focuses on the heart of the matter regarding the potential of a user to change. The user is bombarded constantly regarding the moral reason behind stopping, which only adds to the sense lack of self worth and desire to be free.

Personal Opinion
Finally, I would like to add my feelings on the Project MATCH, which we are currently studying. The position and theories they generate are truly focused in one arena of treatment and the statistical data holds possibilities, which we should analyze further; however, I would have to argue the stance they take regarding addiction.

My initial comment as I began this study included my saying, “I am quite motivated to state my position,” as I had previously studied this therapy and observed no validity in previous research. I approached the Harm Reduction theory as a set of five principles that are, in my opinion, better suited for users as this sets the tone for realistically dealing with a person who is suffering at the hands of the devil we call narcotics and, of course, alcohol. In fact, alcohol often precludes the drug abuser’s call to illegal narcotics, forcing her/him to fight a two headed monster.