Sections
Contingency Management: Introduction | Scientific Rationale | Basic Elements of CM | The Evolution of a Treatment Approach: Treatment
Outcome Studies on Contingency Management and SUDs | Improving CM Interventions: Initial Treatment Response
and Longer-Term Outcomes | Dissemination: Community Drug Abuse Treatment Programs | Conclusion | Key Points | References | Suggested Reading
Excerpt
Contingency management (CM) treatments for substance use
disorders (SUDs) have been in the published literature since the
1960s but have achieved a higher profile within the past two decades
(see Higgins et al. 2008). CM treatments can vary in
many respects, but the central feature common to all of them is
the systematic application of reinforcing or punishing consequences
in order to achieve therapeutic goals. With regard to treatment
of SUDs, CM most commonly involves the systematic application of
positive reinforcement to increase abstinence from drug use, an
approach referred to as abstinence reinforcement
therapy, but also to facilitate other therapeutic
changes, including retention in treatment, attendance at therapy
sessions, and compliance with medication regimens. Typically, CM
is used as part of a more comprehensive treatment intervention.
Below we outline the scientific rationale underlying this treatment
approach, discuss the basic elements of CM, and discuss its treatment
efficacy and effectiveness.