A comparison of treatment effectiveness of nonaddict and exaddict professionals in an adolescent treatment program

This paper examines the relative effectiveness of the nonaddict professional and the exaddict professional in an adolescent drug abuse treatment program. Based upon statistical and clinical considerations, the authors' conclusion is that exaddict professionals untrained in psychology or a related health field should perhaps not work with adolescents who present with drug and mental health problems.Strengths and weaknesses of each group are discussed, as is clinical effectiveness with respect to client retention and discharge rates. Age, race and sex were explored relative to length of employment. It was found that exaddict professionals left work significantly more often than nonaddict professionals as a result of negative or unethical behavior.