University of California, Irvine Studies SLBTS's T.E.A.C.H. Program

    /24-7PressRelease.com/ - February 2, 2005 - IRVINE, CA - In the Fall 2003 Brendan Bickley and Paul Alexander, both graduates of the Sober Living By The Sea's (SLBTS) T.E.A.C.H. Program [http://www.soberliving.com/college_prog.htm] and then undergraduate students of the University of California-Irvine(UCI), were accepted into the Social Ecology Honors Research Seminar Class. Dr. Valerie Jenness, Chair of the Department of Criminology, Law and Society and the Department of Sociology directs this three quarter course designed to allow the student the opportunity to complete original research, while being supervised by a another member of the Social Ecology faculty.

Acceptance into the Honor Research Seminar is based on previous academic achievement, the ability to attain a faculty mentor, and selecting an original and interesting research topic. Having met the first requirement, Brendan and Paul approached Dr. George E. Tita, Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society with the idea to study the effects of Sober Living By The Sea's T.E.A.C.H (Transitional Education Action Career Help) program with regard to producing lower attrition relapse rates. Brendan and Paul explained the T.E.A.C.H program to Dr. Tita and he agreed that "the T.E.A.C.H program provides an interesting model for treatment, and a sound evaluation would go a long way towards demonstrating the efficacy of the program."

With Dr. Tita acting as a research mentor, Brendan and Paul applied for and received a small grant to conduct their research with the following hypothesis: The objective of our research is to determine whether participation in an educational component increases the chances of post-release success for individuals participating in a drug and alcohol treatment program. Specifically, we examine the T.E.A.C.H. Program, a voluntary program that places clients in addiction counselor training classes at a local community college. Using a number of outcome measures to determine success, clients were assessed at the time of admittance, discharge, and six months after their discharge dates. Overall success was based on continued abstinence from drugs and/or alcohol, involvement in 12-step recovery meetings, employment, and enrollment in college. We anticipate that clients who participated in the T.E.A.C.H. Program will show a higher level of success on a number of outcome measures than those clients who did not participate in the T.E.A.C.H. Program. This work is important for aiding in the development of effective addiction treatment models.

On May 15, 2004, the research results were presented at the 11th Annual UCI Undergraduate Research Symposium. Brendan and Paul compared 75 subjects who participated in the T.E.A.C.H. program to 75 subjects who received treatment but did not participate in the T.E.A.C.H. program. Overall, clients who went through the T.E.A.C.H. Program were more likely to stay sober for six months post discharge, were more likely to remain in college after treatment, and were more likely to return to recovery after a relapse.
These results, while preliminary, serve to validate SLBTS's creative treatment model which is offered to every resident as they complete their initial residential treatment program. Now in its 8th year, T.E.A.C.H. has had hundreds of successful graduates. Today, both Brendan and Paul continue to work at SLBTS directing and further developing the T.E.A.C.H. program. Additionally, both graduated cum laude from UCI in June 2004, Brendan is now in law school and Paul will begin law school later this year.

This winter 19 new SLBTS clients registered to participate in the T.E.A.C.H program. You can learn more about this successful and innovative program by visiting our website http://www.soberliving.com/college_prog.htm.

For more information, contact Bill Swiney, Executive Director 800-647-0042 [[email protected]]

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