Training Therapists to Administer Contingency Management

Description:
The purpose of this study is to train therapists to administer contingency management (CM). This project will train up to 42 community-based treatment providers about the rationale for and the specifics of administering CM. Initial training will occur in 2-day workshops, followed by weekly supervision in delivery of CM with test cases. We expect that the majority of therapists will achieve high levels of competence and adherence in administering CM treatment within 3-5 test cases, as measured by ratings of audiotapes. To examine the efficacy of CM, each therapist who achieves adherence and competence in delivering CM will administer standard treatment alone or standard treatment plus CM to substance-abusing outpatients. In the CM condition, patients will have the opportunity to win prizes ranging in value from $1 to $100 for submission of negative samples, and the treatment will be in effect for 12 weeks. In total, up to 200 patients will be randomly assigned to one of the two conditions. A research assistant will conduct follow-up assessments, scheduled for 3, 6 and 9 months after treatment initiation.