NCJ Number
209134
Journal
Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly Volume: 22 Issue: 3/4 Dated: 2004 Pages: 41-61
Date Published
2004
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This article describes the Triad Women’s Project in rural Florida, designed to provide comprehensive care for women and children within a three-county area.
Abstract
Many women in need have diverse problems, such as domestic violence, mental health problems, and alcohol and other drug dependencies. These women and their children need comprehensive services at both the individual and the systems levels. The Triad Women’s Project serves women in a three-county, semi-rural area in Florida who have histories of abuse or violence, co-occurring alcoholism and other drug dependencies, and have been consistent clients of behavioral healthcare services. The article discusses the development process of the Triad Women’s Project and describes the types of interventions offered by the Project, including group therapy on a number of topics, clinical case management, resource coordination, advocacy, parenting interventions, and peer support groups. The development of the Project involved the input of local consumer/survivor/recovering women (CSR's), which proved to be critically important to developing appropriate and effective services for women and children. The underlying philosophy of the Project is that an integrated, multidisciplinary, and comprehensive approach to treatment for mental health, drug, and trauma problems will be more effective than separate treatments for each problem. The lessons learned from the development and implementation of the Triad Women’s Project are enumerated and include the need for persistence in bringing together the diverse services offered and to offer services that fit the needs of the women and the environment. Finally, in order for a collaborative effort like this to work, it is important to devote time to consensus building, consumer involvement, and support for staff. Table, references