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This is an evaluation of an Alcohol Treatment Unit with a focus on a comparison of Mexican-American and Anglo-American outcomes. Social adjustment on a target cohort of 75 was measured on a standard rating instrument (SAI) 2 years after discharge from the hospital. The overall successfulness of the program was 39%; the validity of the Treatment Difficulty Scale (a composite index of anticipated treatment difficulty) was demonstrated for both ethnic groups and both first and second year outcome results; and the average stability of first year findings of SAI components as compared to second year results was shown to be 79%. Use of a standardized index of pretreatment patient characteristics was recommended to facilitate comparative program evaluation research.

This article describes the development of an alcohol treatment unit in a Veterans Hospital. The focus is on therapeutic philosophy, staffing patterns, and a critical evaluation and examination of issues related to program evaluation. About March of 1975 the administrative staff of the Audie Murphy Veterans Administration Hospital began tooling up for a new psychiatric unit to deal exclusively with the problem of alcohol abuse. The unit was officially opened in June of 1975. This article provides a short descriptive overview of the development of the program, with a focus on its staffing pattern and the operationalization of its treatment philosophy. It presents an evaluation of the program, describing the methodology of evaluation preferred for this type of operation as developed from previous experience of the senior author.

Evaluated presumably therapeutic components within a therapeutic community in terms of perceived helpfulness by patients and staff of an alcohol treatment unit. Eighteen male patients and 18 staff members participated. A nonparametric statistic was used as an index of treatment philosophy articulation or degree of value-sharing. A core of activities valued congruently by patients and staff was identified.