Introduction: Program quality in substance dependency treatment

The purpose of this volume of articles is to present the current "state of the art" in conceptualization and research concerning program quality in su bstance dependency treatment, which includes the following topics: How shou ld treatment program outcomes be defined? How can research-based quality tr eatment be disseminated to the held? What is the role of innovative accredi tation models in promoting treatment quality? How can the conceptualization and measurement of the treatment process be improved? What more can we lea rn about elements of program/treatment quality from the research base? Thes e issues are explored theoretically and empirically in 20 original articles .