PERSONALITY-ASSESSMENT OF SUBSTANCE-DEPENDENT PATIENTS IN A THERAPEUTIC-COMMUNITY

The design and implementation of a personality assessment system for s everely substance-dependent men in a therapeutic community (TC) are de scribed. The system was designed from a treatment utility perspective (Hayes, Nelson, & Jarrett, 1987) and uses the Personality Research For m E (Jackson, 1984) to provide each patient with feedback (a) describi ng his normal personality traits, (b) predicting his probable pattern of adjustment to the treatment setting, and (c) prescribing specific a ctions he call take to address potentially problematic behaviors. Disc ussing the results with the patient helps him cope with the TC. Review ing the assessment results with the staff promotes their empathy for t he patient as a person whose behavior can be understood as an interact ion of his personality with the specific demands of the TC rather than seeing the patient in exclusively pathological terms. Specific sugges tions for behavior change guide both the patient and the staff and are potentially useful in various treatment settings.