Behavioral Couples Therapy for Female Drug-Abusing Patients

In treating drug addiction, many studies of male patients show Behavioral Couples Therapy (BCT) helps the whole family (the drug abuser, the relationship partner, and their children) and is more effective than typical individual and group counseling. Only one study of BCT has been done with female drug-abusing patients, and results were promising but not definitive. The proposed study will test with married or cohabiting female drug-abusing patients whether BCT will produce more positive outcomes for the women, their male partners, and their children than standard individual counseling for the patient alone.