Dual Diagnosis Program for women

In General

a.       The proposed program is within in the framework of the therapeutic community and will treat women with dual disturbance: drug addiction and mental disorder.

b.       The program is for women, eighteen or older, with the above dual diagnosis (from five to ten beds).

Dual Diagnosis

The target population is women who have experienced psychiatric hospitalization in their past and have been diagnosed by mental health professionals to be in remission and in optimum medical balance.  Treatment of this population will require the involvement of physicians and psychiatrists and, concurrently, will utilize strategies generated by addiction specialists, including behavioral interventions, relapse prevention, family and relationship therapy, and management of recovery issues.

Process of  Application and Assessment

Application to the community typically occurs after completion of a process of diagnosis and assessment at the appropriate health services ( e.g.  hospitals and withdrawal units for dual diagnosis patients), and after the decision of the rehabilitation committee with responsibility for supervising the individual's treatment.

Acceptance Committee

The acceptance committee consists of Haderech staff (including the director and the staff physician).  The committee will review the candidate's documents, among them the  recommendations of the rehabilitation committee.  The candidate will participate in a personal interview and undergo a medical examination to determine suitability for treatment at the Center, and more particularly, for the dual diagnosis program.

Principles

The treatment will be for at least eight months at the Center at Nes-Ammim, after which the patient will move to a "protected residence" (similar to a halfway house),  provided by the health system outside the therapeutic community.  While the women are in residence at the Center there will be an effort to include them in the regular treatment program with its focus on personal and group responsibilities, changing cognitive and behavior patterns, and gaining control of  life without drugs.

The mode of

Stages of the Treatment Plan

The First Stage (acceptance) is one month in duration.

The Second Stage is meant to last five months.

The Third Stage, approximately two months in duration, will be dedicated to planning for the future.   At this stage the women will begin to separate from the community, make initial visits to their families, and begin the process of locating appropriate outside settings for work and for continuing treatment.  The Twelve Step work at this stage is on Step Four and Step Five.

Specific Issues

Medical and psychiatric follow-up. A nurse will be available twenty-four hours daily.  In addition, there will be weekly visits to the women by a psychiatrist - social worker team.  If necessary, hospital facilities will be available at Mazra Hospital.

Individual therapy. Individual theapy sessions will be twice weekly plus follow-up.

Group therapy. The women will participate in the regular women's group and as appropriate, there will be specific groups at stage one in addition to step seminars as needed.

Creativity. A creativity group, headed by a trained art therapist, will be part of the women's program.

Family therapy. Family treatment will be provided, as necessary, in the final stage of treatment.