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EXPERTS ON DRUG REHAB HERE TO TRAIN LOCALS Families and loved ones of drug users can soon expect better rehab treatment as local narcotic authorities now start to train under foreign experts on more effective means of handling drug dependents. The Department of Health (DOH) today said that officials and other staff of government treatment and rehabilitation centers (TRCs) are set to undergo training on the standard method of rehabilitation for people with substance-abuse problems. Health authorities said that the approach is called Therapeutic Community Modality (TCM), where drug dependents live as a community with a daily routine. This approach involves constant "reality checks" on the part of each individual through immediate processing by the center's staff on the cause and effect of their behaviors toward other community members. Top officials of the Daytop International, a pioneer on the said modality in the United States , will give the training funded by the US State Department. The trainees include local doctors, psychologists, nurses, social workers and other paramedical staff. According to the DOH, the country's 66 rehab centers are currently employing various approaches in their treatment of drug users. Health authorities disclosed that some are using the Faith-Based Modality, where behavioral change is encouraged through faith and may include various religious principles which emphasize respect for oneself and to others. Very little scientific evaluation has been done regarding this modality. TRCs that use this approach are usually run by church-based groups. The DOH said that the others are using the Minnesota/Hazzelden/12-Steps Modality, which is often associated with support groups (such as Alcoholics Anonymous) and include participation to meetings, sharing of histories and obtaining support and help from members. There are also some privately-run TRCs that use the Eclectic approach, a hodge-podge of the previous modalities described above (the TCM, Minnesota/Hazzelden/12-steps, and Spiritual). This combination is often dictated by the program director to suit the needs of the patient, hence, no definite standards are set from which to evaluate the effectivity of the program. Participants to the training are expected to know first-hand how the Therapeutic Community Modality should be implemented and identify modifications of the American model to tailor-fit the Filipino culture. Around 60 personnel from the DOH Centers for Health Development (NCR, Cagayan Valley, Southern Luzon, Bicol, Western and Eastern Visayas, and Northern Mindanao), DOH-retained hospitals, Phil. National Police TRCs, National Bureau of Investigation TRCs, Paroles & Probation Administration (of the Dept. of Justice), and the Bureau of Jail Management & Penology (of the Dept. of Interior & Local Gov't.) will be trained by the US experts. Daytop experts Frederick Loke, Michael Bosch, and Raymond Lenahan said that the proper implementation of the TC modality will reduce the number of relapse cases among the recovered drug dependents. There are approximately 6,000 institutionalized drug dependents in the country. More than half of this number is being served by only 8 nationally-funded government rehab centers, the rest are in private or non-government TRCs. *For more info, contact Dr. Benjamin Reyes (Supervising Health Program Officer, DOH) at 0919-6018199
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