Healing the Dragon

It is a sad reflection upon the field that practices
and procedures for the treatment of heroin use
disorders can so easily be introduced and applied
without (or even contrary to) evidence. In South
Africa, the field of heroin use disorder
intervention has been in transition since the
outbreak of the heroin epidemic. Yet despite growing
evidence of an association between heroin dependents
use of supplementary intervention services and
intervention outcomes, heroin use disorder
intervention programmes in South Africa generally
fail to meet international intervention standards.
This study, the first of its nature in South Africa
and the Arican continent, delved into the insights
of ten heroin use disorder specialists and
synthesised the findings with the results of a
previous study undertaken by the author relating to
forty long-term voluntarily abstinent heroin
dependents,study findings supported the maturing out
hypothesis of heroin dependence. Findings of the
present study suggest that the field is less in
transition now than it was in 1995. Interventions
and procedures have begun to be integrated routinely
into clinical practice.

Autorentext

Dr Monika dos Santos has worked therapeutically with heroin dependents since 1998. She obtained her PhD in psychology from the University of South Africa in 2008. She is an academic/researcher at the Foundation for Professional Development, and also counsels in private practice at Vista Clinic.

Klappentext

It is a sad reflection upon the field that practices and procedures for the treatment of heroin use disorders can so easily be introduced and applied without (or even contrary to) evidence. In South Africa, the field of heroin use disorder intervention has been 'in transition' since the outbreak of the heroin epidemic. Yet despite growing evidence of an association between heroin dependents use of supplementary intervention services and intervention outcomes, heroin use disorder intervention programmes in South Africa generally fail to meet international intervention standards. This study, the first of its nature in South Africa and the Arican continent, delved into the insights of ten heroin use disorder specialists and synthesised the findings with the results of a previous study undertaken by the author relating to forty long-term voluntarily abstinent heroin dependents,study findings supported the maturing out hypothesis of heroin dependence. Findings of the present study suggest that the field is less in transition now than it was in 1995. Interventions and procedures have begun to be integrated routinely into clinical practice.