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Cultural Adaptation of Empirically-Validated Therapies for Treating Drug Dependence

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Textbook of Addiction Treatment: International Perspectives

Abstract

Efficacious drug abuse treatments (empirically validated treatments – EVTs) are those that have been designed by applying scientific theory and principles of effective drug abuse treatment. These EVTs are defined as efficacious when tested in randomized controlled trials that demonstrate that they “work” in promoting abstinence from drug use, in avoiding relapse, and in attaining targeted treatment outcomes. In principle, efficacious treatments should be implemented with fidelity in the delivery of the core elements necessary for effective treatment. By contrast, the need for local adaptations of these EVTs has emerged based on the considerable diversity in client needs that exists worldwide, given considerable variations in local cultural environments that exist within diverse communities worldwide. Issues of local adaptation are magnified when an EVT that is designed in one nation, such as the United States, is “exported” for use in another nation. The present chapter examines and analyzes issues in the local adaptation of EVTs to render them culturally relevant for treating members of local subcultural groups, while also maintaining the core elements that from scientific research must be delivered correctly to promote effective recovery from drug abuse and addiction. The Matrix Model is presented as an exemplar of an EVT that has been adapted for delivery within diverse communities worldwide. Also, stage models of common adaptation approaches and practices are examined. Finally, some practical approaches and recommendations are presented for conducting a local adaptation of an EVT within various nations or cultural communities.

This chapter is based in part on presentations at the 2013 National Multicultural Symposium – Psychologists in Action: Implementing Best Practices to Reduce Health Disparities, January 18, 2013, Houston, TX and at the 34th Annual Meeting of the Society for Behavioral Medicine: Technology – The Excitement and the Evidence, March 20, 2013, San Francisco, CA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA

    Felipe González Castro

  2. Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Felipe González Castro & Manuel Barrera Jr.

Authors
  1. Felipe González Castro
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  2. Manuel Barrera Jr.
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Correspondence to Felipe González Castro .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Alberta Gambling Research Institute University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    Nady el-Guebaly

  2. Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, United Kingdom

    Giuseppe Carrà

  3. Division of Alcoholism & Drug Abuse, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA

    Marc Galanter

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Castro, F.G., Barrera, M. (2015). Cultural Adaptation of Empirically-Validated Therapies for Treating Drug Dependence. In: el-Guebaly, N., Carrà, G., Galanter, M. (eds) Textbook of Addiction Treatment: International Perspectives. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5322-9_50

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5322-9_50

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Milano

  • Print ISBN: 978-88-470-5321-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-88-470-5322-9

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