A Meta-Analytic Review of Psychosocial Interventions for Substance Use Disorders

Objective: Despite significant advances in psychosocial treatments for substance use disorders, the relative success of these approaches has not been well documented. In this meta-analysis, the authors provide effect sizes for various types of psychosocial treatments, as well as abstinence and treatment-retention rates for cannabis, cocaine, opiate, and polysubstance abuse and dependence treatment trials. Method: With a comprehensive series of literature searches, the authors identified a total of 34 well-controlled treatment conditions—five for cannabis, nine for cocaine, seven for opiate, and 13 for polysubstance users—representing the treatment of 2,340 patients. Psychosocial treatments evaluated included contingency management, relapse prevention, general cognitive behavior therapy, and treatments combining cognitive behavior therapy and contingency management. Results: Overall, controlled trial data suggest that psychosocial treatments provide benefits reflecting a moderate effect size according to C...