![](media/image1.jpeg){width="6.5in" height="0.9465277777777777in"}

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Leah Young 240-276-2130

March 22, 2005 [www.samhsa.gov](http://www.samhsa.gov/)

SAMHSA Issues Group Therapy Guide for Substance Use Disorders Treatment

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
today unveiled a comprehensive guide on the use of group therapy in the
treatment of substance use disorders. The consensus panel that created
*"Substance Abuse Treatment: Group Therapy"* emphasized that group
therapy is effective treatment and is also cost effective, since the
individual charge for group therapy is always less than the charges for
individual therapy.

The guide, Treatment Improvement Protocol #41 in SAMHSA's Treatment
Improvement Protocol (TIP) series, is designed to aid substance abuse
counselors who employ group therapy in the treatment of substance use
disorders. TIP 41contains detailed, state-of-the-art information about
group therapy modalities, techniques, and practices that are valuable to
substance abuse treatment counselors as well as supervisors and trainers
of counselors.

The consensus panel found that group therapy offers a number of
advantages to patients, including positive peer support, a reduction in
their sense of isolation, real-life examples of people in recovery, and
help from peers in coping with substance abuse and other life problems.
The consensus group that created the TIP noted that there is clinical
evidence from the leading experts on addiction treatment that group
therapy is the treatment of choice for the treatment of addiction.

"Group therapy offers participants a critical pathway for the hope,
support and encouragement necessary to break free from the destruction
of substance abuse," SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie said.

"Because of its effectiveness and economy of scale, group therapy has
gained popularity, and the group approach has come to be regarded as a
source of powerful curative forces that are not always experienced by
the client in individual therapy," he added.

Among the reasons cited in the TIP for the effectiveness of group
therapy in the treatment of substance abuse is that group participation
engages therapeutic forces such as affiliation, support, gratification,
and peer confrontation -- properties that enable participants to bond
with a culture of recovery. In addition, groups are effective in
treating problems that can accompany addiction, such as depression,
isolation, and shame.

Group therapy is not equivalent to 12-Step program practices, the TIP
emphasizes. Rather, they are complementary components in the recovery
process. Group therapy, led by a professional substance abuse
practitioner, should be conducted in a manner that increases the
complimentary relationship between the professionally led group and
12-step programs, the TIP explains. Group therapy addresses all the
symptoms experienced by the patient, using specific behavioral and
psychological approaches. Twelve-Step groups address only one specific
component of recovery -- abstinence.

The new TIP describes five group models that are common in substance
abuse treatment:

-   *Psychoeducational groups* -- educate clients about substance abuse;

-   *Skills development groups --* cultivate the skills needed to attain
    and sustain abstinence;

-   *Cognitive-behavioral groups* -- alter thoughts and actions that
    lead to substance abuse;

-   *Support Groups* -- buoy members and provide a forum to share
    pragmatic information about maintaining abstinence and managing
    day-to-day, chemical free living;

-   *Interpersonal process groups --* delve into major developmental
    issues that contribute to addiction and can interfere with recovery.

The TIP also offers information about specialized types of groups that
do not fit neatly into the five-model classification, but are common in
substance abuse treatment, and groups that focus on solving a single
problem.

The TIP contains a depth of information about a broad range of topics
related to the utilization of group therapy including:

-   Information about why groups work so well in treating substance
    abuse and how to tailor group therapy to substance abuse treatment;

-   Considerations that should be weighed before placing a client in a
    particular group, such as stage of recovery and client diversity;

-   Comparison of fixed and revolving types of therapy groups and
    recommendations on preparing clients for participation;

-   Stages of treatment and issues related to these stages;

-   A "how-to" segment that explains the characteristics, duties, and
    concepts important to promote effective group leadership in treating
    substance abuse;

-   Training opportunities.

The TIP 41 panel was chaired by Philip J. Flores, Ph.D., Adjunct
Clinical Supervisor, Department of Psychology, Georgia State University,
and co-chaired by Jeffrey M. Georgi, M.Div., Clinical Director,
Department of Behavioral Science, Duke School of Nursing and Duke
University Medical Center.

TIP 41, DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 05-3991, can be ordered through
SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information
(NCADI), P.O. Box 2345, Rockville, M.D. 20847-2345, or by calling
1-800-729-6686.

*SAMHSA, a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, is the lead federal agency for improving the quality and
availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment and
mental health services in the United States.*