Implementing an adapted version of the Job Seekers’ Workshop in a residential program for patients with substance use disorders.

This article describes a CTN platform study that evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of adapting the Job Seeker’s Workshop (JSW), developed as part of CTN-0020, to a residential setting within a Massachusetts-based substance use disorder treatment agency. Implementation of the adapted JSW consisted of a continual sequence of three weekly sessions that focused on job interview rehearsals, practice completing job applications, and identification of job leads. Data were compiled on the employment rates of the 188 patients discharged from the residential treatment program during July to December 2006 (baseline participants, n=95) and January to June 2007 (JSW intervention participants, n=93). The effectiveness of the adapted JSW was evaluated through a comparison of baseline and intervention participants’ employment rates at discharge from residential treatment.

Analyses indicated a trend toward a significant increase in employment at discharge for the intervention period (40.9%) compared with baseline (29.5%). Further evaluation of the JSW in residential settings is necessary, but this preliminary research suggests that the intervention could begin to address the need for vocational services in residential treatment for substance use disorders.

Related protocols: CTN-0020