Integrating skills training and motivational therapies - Implications for the treatment of substance dependence

Two well-articulated models of substance abuse treatment, skills training a nd motivational enhancement, have received considerable research attention in recent years. Skills training treatments operate on the underlying ratio nale of correcting skills deficits, whereas motivational strategies are bas ed on affecting clients' willingness to use skills they already possess. Sk ills training and motivational enhancement are typically described as disti nct treatments and have recently been constructed as different treatments w ithin a large multisite trial in the United States (Project MATCH). This ar ticle explores how treatments for substance abuse can draw from and integra te skills training and motivational strategies. Recovery from addictive pat terns of behavior often requires learning over time and typically involves slips, relapses, and multiple quit attempts. Therapeutic support for change in addictive behavior, in particular attempting to prevent and minimize re lapse, requires assessment and support of both why one might pursue change (motivation) and how one carl best be successful (skills). (C) 1999 Elsevie r Science Inc. All rights reserved.