APPLYING BEHAVIORAL-CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES TO THE TREATEMENT OF COCAINE DEPENDENCE

Cocaine dependence continues to be a widespread and serious public hea lth problem in the US. Unfortunately, no consensus exists about how to treat cocaine dependence. Various pharmacological and psychological t herapies have been investigated with mixed results. In this report we review findings from several studies conducted to assess the efficacy of an outpatient behavioral treatment for cocaine dependence. The trea tment is based on the concepts and principles of behavior analysis and behavioral pharmacology. Results obtained to date indicate the treatm ent is acceptable to patients, retains them in treatment, engenders cl inically significant levels of cocaine abstinence and can be adapted t o deal with other forms of substance abuse common in this population. Overall, we believe the treatment represents an important step towards the development of empirically based and effective treatments for coc aine dependence.