The Matrix Treatment Model
The Matrix Model (MM) is provided based on an outpatient basis, surrounding a person addicted to various drugs. The Matrix Treatment model was established in the 1980s when abuse of cocaine became rampant among the members belonging to the middle and upper-middle classes. Professionals in the Matrix Institute founded this treatment model on Addictions, a nonprofit organization based in California. By 1984, they developed the program that later became the Matrix model of substance abuse treatment (Rawson & McCann, 2014). Many other private treatment programs also use this model because it has significant and distinct advantages over certain treatment programs.
The model was established during the moments of the cocaine epidemic in Southern California. During that time, there was no outpatient treatment program that had been put in place to treat stimulant addiction (McCann, 2009). At that time, the drug rehabilitation efforts were directed towards treating users of alcohol or heroin. At that time, most programs were created based on a twenty-eight-day inpatient boarding and depended greatly on the 12-step model (Weiner, 2016). Therefore, they thought that having a more targeted program would benefit new users who had started showing up at the treatment centers. Was time elapsed, the Matrix Model became effective based on research findings and clinical experiences. Although this model can form a vital part of any addiction treatment program, it was established originally to assist individuals with disorders associated with the abuse of stimulants.
Instead of focusing on the defense of a single theory, the establishment of the Matrix Model applied strategies based on various practical approaches that had been seen to work effectively in drug treatment. Using a matrix design rather than one methodology, the developers targeted numerous factors affecting a person’s opportunities for recovery. Some of the treatment model factors were the social influences, cognitive-behavioral techniques, patient and family’s education, individual sessions, support groups, and urine and breath testing (Rawson & McCann, 2014). This model’s goal was to assist stimulant users in stopping the use of the drugs, be on the treatment programs, learn more concerning critical issues to relapse and addiction, to receive support and direction from a trained therapist, introduce self-help programs to addicts, educate the family members of the abusers and also to keep monitoring patients by conducting blood tests. This treatment program lasts sixteen weeks, and its administrators worked on various studies to measure the efficacy of the Matrix model for various users.
The Matrix Treatment Model incorporates different elements of the treatment of addictions, inclusive of relapse prevention, group therapy, family therapy, peer support groups, and addiction education. The main components of this model include the individual therapy sessions, which entail meetings that focus on treatment planning and checking the victim’s health progress (McCann, 2009). The second component is early recovery groups, and this involves users who belong to the initial months of sobriety. They establish schedules to monitor themselves. The third one is relapse prevention groups, and under this, the users learn and share the strategies for being sober. Fourthly, the family education groups occur during the 12 weeks and entail family members’ teaching about addiction and other related lessons (Weiner, 2016). The other components of this model include social support groups and the twelve-step meeting. The social support groups are involved in the last month of treatment.
This model also incorporates various therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps users understand the role of their thoughts on behaviors. They are taught how they can replace negative thoughts, which may result in self-destructive behaviors. The second therapy is motivational interviewing. This is a technique of counseling used to assist people with substance abuse challenges to help them overcome (Salimi et al., 2018). The third one is contingency management, and it is a strategy used in the treatment process to reward drug-free behaviors like attending treatment sessions.
A typical Matrix Treatment Model program goes for 16 weeks, and during this period, the patient operates directly with a therapist in charge of coordinating the patients. The treatment process comprises primary groups, with three to ten single sessions during the program’s duration (Rawson & McCann, 2014). Patients go for 2 relapse prevention groups and one education or family group every week. In the first four weeks, they also go for two early recovery skills groups every week. After attending the program for twelve weeks, they get to the social support group rather than the family education group. The treatment schedule also entails random urine tests conducted once a week.
Many studies conducted reveal that individuals treated through the Matrix Model express statistically significant reductions regarding drug and alcohol use. They also show improvements in psychological indicators and reduced incidences of sexual behaviors. Many other studies have examined the effectiveness of this model concerning numerous treatment outcomes. For example, a study conducted in 1985 after establishing this model realized that users who decided to use the Matrix Model program on a 12-step group or over 28-based inpatient hospitals expressed reduced rates of cocaine use (Weiner, 2016). This happened 8 months after their treatment compared to their counterparts who preferred the other forms of treatment. Another study involving users of methamphetamine treated using the Matrix model also established that they had reduced their drug use 2 to 5 years after treatment ad most of them were taken out of jail. They gained their employment (Sami et al., 2017). In another study involving 48 sessions of the Matrix Model program for bisexual and gay men who had abused methamphetamines, it was realized that the participants were less likely to get engaged in risky sexual behaviors because of their reduced rate of drug abuse (Magidson et al., 2017).
One thing is clear to me that if I were to use this model, I would expect it to take me a long time for me to achieve my intended outcomes. The Matrix Treatment Model is a good one that focuses on helping drug users and addicts to rehabilitate them to uphold the right behavior in society (McCann, 2009). However, I think that this model takes quite a long time because, based on the previous evidence, victims took many months, and some even took years to be fully recovered. This model is useful in instilling and promoting ethics and values in society. For example, it focuses on building the right attitude and mind by not allowing people to get highly affected by drugs. Many young people have become addicted to alcohol and other forms of drugs, which has often caused unhealthy behavior among people. Essentially, the Matrix Treatment Model is a real embodiment of values and ethics because I think it helps victims of drug abuse and teaches other members of society like the victims’ families in knowing the dangers of drug abuse. In other words, the model helps in bringing forth a society that upholds moral standards. Finally, although achieving success through this model may seem distant, but with patience, it surely works to achieve the intended outcomes.
References
Rawson, R., and McCann, M. (2014). The Matrix Model of Intensive Outpatient Treatment. Matrix Institute.
Weiner, A. (2016). The Matrix Model in the New Healthcare World: Implementing EBPs. Matrix Institute on Addictions.
McCann, M. (2009). Matrix Model Overview. Matrix Institute on Addictions.
Magidson, J. F., Gouse, H., Burnhams, W., Wu, C. Y., Myers, B., Joska, J. A., & Carrico, A. W. (2017). Beyond methamphetamine: Documenting the implementation of the Matrix model of substance use treatment for opioid users in a South African setting. Addictive behaviors, 66, 132-137.
Sami, S., Effatpanah, M., Moradi, A., & Massah, O. (2017). Matrix model as an intensive rehabilitation in three methadone services in Iran. Iranian Rehabilitation Journal, 15(3), 293-298.
Salimi, S., Effatpanah, M., & Mahjoub, A. (2018). Motivational interviewing can facilitate entry to matrix treatment for methamphetamine dependence—Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 12(2), e63560.