Treatment Approaches and Strategies

Minnesota Model

Perhaps the best-known and most widely emulated approach to treatment is the Minnesota Model, developed by the Hazelden Foundation in the 1940s and 1950s. The philosophy of the Minnesota Model can be described by four components. The first is the belief that clients can change attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Famous people who have completed the program, such as Betty Ford, Elizabeth Taylor, and Anthony Hopkins, are used as models to illustrate this belief. Second, the Minnesota Model adheres to the disease concept of addiction. The term chemical dependency is preferred to addiction or alcoholism and is seen as a physical, psychological, social, and spiritual illness. The major characteristics of the disease concept are taught. That is, chemical dependency is seen as a primary disease that is chronic, progressive, and potentially fatal. The focus of treatment is the disease and not secondary characteristics.

The third philosophical component is illustrated by the long-term treatment goals of the Minnesota Model: abstinence from all mood-altering chemicals and improvement of lifestyle. Clients are not considered cured, because the disease is incurable. However, through abstinence and personal growth, a chemically dependent individual can be in the process of recovery. Finally, the Minnesota Model uses the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) in treatment, implying a heavy spiritual component to treatment.

The continuum of care includes assessment and diagnosis, detoxification, inpatient care, therapeutic communities, halfway houses, outpatient care, and aftercare. Group therapy is used and is concerned with present and future behavior as opposed to past causal factors. Groups are often confrontational. The family also receives therapy. Didactic experiences, including lectures and videotapes, are used to educate clients about the disease of chemical dependency and the consequences of the disease. The staff is composed of professionals from a number of disciplines (physicians, social workers, psychologists, nurses, and clergy), and recovering addicts and alcoholics are also used as counselors. Clients have reading and writing assignments, such as reading the AA Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions and writing their life histories. Attendance at AA or NA meetings is required, and clients are expected to work through the first three to five steps of AA while in treatment. There also may be work assignments and recreational activities, depending on the treatment setting. Aftercare includes attendance at AA or NA.

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