July 2005

A. Thomas McLellan, Ph.D. today announced creation of the Center on the Continuum of Care: Monitoring and Adapting Addiction Treatment at the Philadelphia-based Treatment Research Institute (TRI) where he is Executive Director.

Funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Center will allow top experts from TRI, the University of Pennsylvania, and others, to collaboratively develop new approaches to continuous monitoring and extended care models for substance abuse treatment patients. Another key goal is evaluation of economic impacts of these new approaches.

McLellan, a strong proponent of continuing care, will direct the Center with James McKay, Ph.D., TRI Scientific Director and Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. McKay is one the nation’s most recognized clinical researchers on continuing care issues.
The field of addiction treatment has largely adhered to an acute care model, in which individuals with substance use disorders receive intensive but relatively short episodes of care, with little or no follow-up contact. Although this model is effective for initiating abstinence, McLellan, McKay and other experts believe it is not designed to promote and facilitate sustained behavior change.

They and others have begun to develop flexible continuing care models, which place greater emphasis on monitoring progress while in treatment and providing extended therapeutic contact following the initial phase of care. Some of this work is being done by investigators at TRI and the University of Pennsylvania, in collaboration with colleagues at other institutions, various treatment providers, and state agencies. The new Center is intended to coordinate these efforts and thereby improve the quality, clinical utility, and impact of the separate research projects.