BRIEF COPING SKILLS TREATMENT FOR COCAINE ABUSE - SUBSTANCE USE OUTCOMES AT 3 MONTHS

Aims. Coping skills training, a promising treatment approach for alcoh olics, was adapted for use with cocaine abusers and effects on outcome were investigated. Design. A cocaine-specific coping skills training (CST) package was compared to an attention placebo control when both w ere added to a comprehensive treatment program. Setting. The sites wer e two private substance abuse treatment facilities, one residential an d rural, and one an urban partial hospital. Participants. Substance ab users in treatment with cocaine abuse or dependence were selected. Int ervention. The CST intervention was conducted in individual sessions. It involved functional analysis of high risk situations and coping ski lls training based on the functional analysis. Findings. Clients who r eceived CST had significantly fewer cocaine use days and the length of their longest binge was significantly shorter during the 3-month foll ow-up period compared to clients in the control condition. CST did not affect relapse rates or use of other substances. Conclusions. Results support the notion that cocaine-specific CST is a promising adjunct t o treatment for cocaine abusers.