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Niatx
E-News Update
August 2006

In This Issue
Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as a Workforce Development Tool

Tommie Ann Bower, Director of Program Development and Quality at Gosnold, launched a brand new 30-day residential rehabilitation program in January 2005—Gosnold at Cataumet—that offers four-week rehabilitation for adult men and women who require a longer treatment stay. "It was a brand-new program in a brand-new facility," says Bower. "I had worked with some of the 10-member staff previously, but I was also building a new team. Not all members had an established working relationship."

At the same time, Nancy Smith was serving as treatment coordinator for the new facility. She had used the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)—an instrument for measuring a person's preferences—as a counseling tool in the past and began to use it with Cataumet patients.

"The patients' reaction was positive and soon became intrigued about using the MBTI to find out their own personality profiles," says Bower. "As it evolved, we found that the MBTI gave us a way to talk to each other as a new staff group. And as a result, we became more patient, compassionate, and tolerant of our differences with each other." Using the tool became a bonding experience for the new staff. [READ MORE]

NIATx Presentations
  • September 11-12
    2006 SAMHSA/CMS Invitational Conference on Medicaid and Mental Health Services/Substance Abuse Treatment
    Arlington, VA
Body Monitoring Technology and Addiction Relapse Prevention

Relapse rates for addictive diseases usually are in the range of 50 to 90%. Fortunately, research indicates that many of these relapses are predictable and ultimately preventable if people in recovery are provided the proper support and tools. Researchers from a new initiative called Innovations for Recovery at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are exploring how technology can improve addiction treatment outcomes. One of the areas researchers are examining is how body-monitoring instruments can be used to prevent relapse. [READ MORE]
Engineering Recovery

NIATx director David Gustafson says that people involved with treatment programs tend to be receptive to change, because they work to create change in their patients' behaviors every day. "We tend to say, 'Just look at yourself and think about how you bring about change in the work you do every day. Now take those concepts and apply them to the business processes,' " he says. [READ MORE]

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