Florida Addictions & Mental Health Services is a specialized substance abuse treatment facility designed to provide personal rehab care to addicts requiring outpatient supervises, or inpatient referrals. Providing Adult Outpatient Services in the Sun Coast area since May 2010, FAMHS joins the list of dedicated providers, serving the needs of those suffering from addiction. All clients at Florida Addictions & Mental Health Services receive group therapy sessions, relapse prevention, drug/alcohol education, family therapy, individual therapy sessions, and nutrition counseling. Our staff has a combined total of over 56 years working in the recovery field, with certifications which include, CAP (Certified Addictions Professional), CRSS (Certified Recovery Support Specialist), along with numerous outstanding service awards.
FAMHS uses the "Matrix Model," a set of clinical outpatient protocols that have been documented for their success by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
The Matrix Model: Outpatient Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program is a 8 week individualized program that has been continuously adapted and revised over the last two decades in order to give chemically dependent persons and their families the most thorough and up-to-date knowledge, structure, education and support possible so they might achieve long-term recovery from drug and alcohol dependence.
Cocaine and Opiate addicts excel with Matrix
In addition to the numerous accolades the Matrix Model has earned over the years; it has also proven especially effective in recent studies on cocaine and opiate addiction treatment, and those who were assigned to Matrix treatment:
- Attended more clinical sessions
- Stayed in treatment longer
- Provided more drug free urine samples during the treatment period
- Had longer periods of abstinence than those assigned to receive other forms of treatment.
One author of the Matrix Model, Richard A. Rawson, PhD, is the Consensus Panel Chair for CSAT's Treatment Improvement Protocol. In this government publication, the Matrix Model is recognized as the model that "integrates treatment elements from a number of specific strategies, including relapse prevention, Motivational Interviewing, psycho education, family therapy, and Twelve Step program involvement."
"Most outpatient treatment programs engage patients in therapeutic process groups, The Matrix Model works as well as it does because groups are mostly educational; the model helps patients understand addiction as a brain disease and integrates Twelve Step recovery into its cognitive behavioral approach. In this program, patients work in conjunction with therapists as co-leaders so they can receive immediate feedback, guidance and hope from someone who has been through what they're going through."
The curriculum addresses core clinical areas within five groups:
- Weekly Individual sessions consist of 8 one-hour meetings arranged by appointment. Conjoint sessions with family members can be arranged, and are designed to orient the patient and, when possible, family members to the outpatient approach and to encourage treatment compliance.
- The Early Recovery Skills Group meets twice weekly and consists of 16 two-hour sessions during the 8 weeks of treatment. Here, patients are introduced to basic cognitive behavioral interventions and the value of Twelve Step participation. Because structure is so important, patients are taught to schedule and document each day of sobriety.
- Patients and family members attend a Family Education Group meeting at the beginning, middle, and end of the 8 week program. Participants are taught how alcohol and drug abuse changes the way their brains function, and workbook exercises take these changes into account.
- Patients who have attained a stable recovery and have completed 8 weeks or more of the Matrix program can meet weekly in the Social Support Group. For many patients, this group extends well beyond the initial 8 weeks of treatment.
The Matrix Model also calls for weekly urine testing as part of its overall structure. "This is not employed as a punitive measure, urine testing is used as a valuable clinical tool that can assist recovery, and it contributes positively to the relationship between the patient and the therapist."
