Institute of Behavioral Research develops "mapping" tool

Fort Worth, TX

2/20/2009

by Dick Jones, Dick Jones Communication

Addiction treatment resources developed at Texas Christian University to help drug rehabilitation counselors promote behavior change in their clients have been endorsed by Great Britain’s National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA).  A central tool is called “mapping.”

“Extensive research has shown that this easy-to-use and innovative technique—which enables drug workers to visually represent their clients’ thinking in a series of personal maps—improves the engagement and motivation of drug misusers,” said the NTA in a news statement on Feb. 18.

The practice has been shown to be a useful instrument in reducing the likelihood that persons will go back to substance abuse after treatment.  In a test in Britain of 2,500 persons who had misused drugs and 750 clinicians who worked to help them combat drug abuse, mapping was found to improve rapport between clients and drug counselors. 

Mapping also led to better levels of engagement and participation in treatment; higher levels of motivation for treatment; better peer support; and improved psychological functioning among those receiving treatment for substance abuse. 

“UK addiction treatment practitioners have made impressive progress in completing adaptations and regional applications of TCU-originated treatment resources to meet their service-improvement needs,” says Dwayne Simpson, head of the Institute of Behavioral Research at TCU where the practice was developed. 

In the program, counselors and clients create documents called maps to identify clients’ strengths, weaknesses, failures and successes.  There are maps to help clients better understand and relate to others, to help them think through important decisions, to assist them in understanding life, events, emotions, problems and successes, and to help them understand and manage serious diseases.

“Mapping-enhanced treatment has become the cornerstone of our strategy for delivering psychosocial interventions to our client groups,” says Dr. Louise Sell, service director for the Great Manchester West NHS Mental health Foundation Trust in Britain. 

For more information on the Institute of Behavioral Research and its work, visit http://www.ibr.tcu.edu/.