STAGE 5. Defining the action plan

What steps should be completed?

Step 1: Specify intervention actions

EVIDENCE FOR MOTIVATIONAL THERAPY/INTERVIEW

Motivational therapy/motivational interview is usually more effective at engaging people with drug problems in treatment than in changing drug use.¹ In themselves, these interventions are not enough to stop drug use, although they complement other treatments, helping improve user participation, compliance, retention and satisfaction, with patients who are less motivated to change gaining the most benefit.²

Overall, using this type of intervention is more effective than an absence of treatment,³ with effects depending on the type of drug motivating the intervention and the purpose of the intervention.² It has proven to be successful in people with alcohol-use disorders, improving commitment to treatment and reducing problematic alcohol consumption. It has also been used successfully, in combination with cognitive behavioural therapy, to treat marijuana dependence, but it has variable results in treatments for abuse/dependence on other drugs.¹

NOTE: interventions based on motivational interview/therapy straddle the areas of treatment and indicated prevention. Therefore, for more information on this type of intervention, it could be useful to consult the section on evidence for brief interventions based on motivational interview in prevention. See

 

References:

1 National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). (2010). Principles of drug addiction treatment: a research-based guide. Washington: National Institute on Drug Abuse

2 Becoña E & Cortés MT. (2011). Manual de adicciones para psicólogos especialistas en psicología clínica en formación [Training manual on addictions for psychologists specialising in clinical psychology]. Barcelona: Socidrogalcohol.

3 Smedslund G et al. (2011). Motivational interviewing for substance abuse. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews: 2011, 5, Art.No.:CD008063