RESEARCH AT TRI

Investigators at the Treatment Research Institute are dedicated to the advancement of treatment effectiveness in substance abuse through research and dissemination. In academic and real-world settings, TRI scientists conduct original research and evaluate the findings of their peers to identify what works and what doesn’t in substance abuse treatment.

The Treatment Systems Section is developing technology-based strategies to increase the availability, accessibility and quality of substance abuse treatment. The DENS Software Suite, an electronic ASI-based assessment system, has been installed in hundreds of clinics across the country, in several state-wide systems and in Thailand, Hungary, the Netherlands and Sweden. The DENS system expedites administration of the ASI, generates reports, and provides data for service organizations to self-monitor performance, make programmatic changes as a result of this information and report results to regulators and policy makers. The Treatment Systems Section has also developed the "CASPAR" or “Computer Assisted System for Patient Assessment and Referral”. Piloted in Philadelphia, CAPSAR is an electronic referral system added to the DENS software package to make it easier for clinicians to refer patients to services matched to problem areas from their ASI.

Monitoring and Feedback in Substance Abuse Treatment: Consistent with concurrent recovery monitoring model, three-stage study by John Cacciola, Ph.D. will develop a monitoring instrument and associated intervention. Abstract.

Cash Versus Non-Cash Contingency Management: first-ever study funded by NIDA will evaluate differential efficacy, cost-effectiveness and ethics of a cash- versus voucher-based CM protocol in the treatment of drug dependence. Read abstract.

Prevention Intervention for Low Risk Adult Drug Court Clients: Stage Ia/Ib Behavioral Therapy Development grant from NIDA will develop an intervention designed to interrupt acquisition of addictive behavior in adult drug court clients with no identifiable substance use disorder. Read abstract.

State Capital Punishment Statutes and Mental Retardation: Definitions of “mental retardation” in state capital punishment statutes vary considerably by states, with only a small portion using clinically acceptable criteria. Read abstract of national survey findings.

Read Special Articles on Adolescent Brain Development or Brief Intervention: Potential New Treatment Approach for Substance Abusing Adolescents, both prepared by TRI Senior Investigator Ken Winters, Ph.D.

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