The Transtheoretical Model in Chemical Dependence Treatment

Abstract

The interest in studies that improve the treatment of chemical dependence has increased before statistical growth of drugs users in Brazil. One of the theories that has most contributed in this context is the Transtheoretical Model of Change, developed by James Prochaska and collaborators in years 70. In this article, it has been made a revision of studies about the use of Transtheoretical Model utilisation in treatment for chemical dependence. It has been consulted databases Pschynfo, Web of Science, Medline and Lilacs, with the describers stages of change, substance abuse, treatment, assessment, drugs, addiction and readiness to change, between 1996 and 2006. Books and articles that couldn’t be found in the references of indexed sources have been also analyzed. From studied literature, only a small part has directly developed Transtheoretical Model in relation to illicit drugs use. Most of the studies suggests more researches in specific populations and for evaluation of others Transtheoretical Model constructs.

Keywords

• transtheoretical model
• periods of change
• drugs
• readiness to change
• treatment