A DRUG rehabilitation pilot program conducted in the Riverland over the past two years helped participants reduce their drug use days tenfold, according to a new report by program organisers.
The Riverland MATRIX Program, run in Berri by Adelaide-based psychology clinic PsychMed, launched in February 2019 and ended last December when its two-year State Government-funded pilot finished.
The intensive after-detox program provided participants a local opportunity to learn to cope with different triggers that may compromise their recovery.
PsychMed psychologist Dr Quentin Black, who was behind the push to bring the program to the Riverland, said more than 60 people completed the 16-week program.
“Most of the people that we see are not casual weekend users – these are people who have been using every weekend until they started using twice a week and then eventually daily…” he said.
“The people who participated in the program had really strong dependencies and most of them had been using since they were kids, including one who was as young as 12 when they started.
“We are talking about people who have had enough, have tried to stop about 10 times and want to bite the bullet and try something a bit more intensive.
“Over half had health, social, legal or financial problems linked to meth while 60 per cent said they tried to stop before in the past but couldn’t.”
Dr Black said the program had caused “significant reduction” in psychological distress, more than 90 per cent decrease in drug use days and 40 per cent decrease in dependency.
“I reckon we’ll find in the end that somewhere just over 50 per cent will have long-term recovery,” he said.
“Compare that to 20 per cent in American MATRIX programs and about 30 per cent in other types of programs and you see this is a very good outcome.”
Lived experience mentor Nicole Bowering said the program had also resulted in improvements in anxiety, depression and stress levels.
“These are often long-term conditions that use up resources in the health system,” she said.
“To do a drug program and be reducing mental health problems to the point where people don’t have to use medication is really good as well, and the program isn’t even seeking to treat these conditions.”
Dr Black said the program had also provided benefits for local trainees.
“We provided four placements for trainees and one of them is now working as a clinical psychologist in the Riverland,” he said.
One who grew up in Berri is finishing her masters this year so she can be qualified as a clinical psychologist.”
Dr Black said the program was cost effective when compared to other rehabilitation programs.
“I think it worked out at about $2500 to $3500 per person going through the program,” he said.
“It’s about $15,000 to detox somebody for 10 days and they have a zero to 8 per cent chance of making it through to long-term recovery according to national research.
“From my point of view, if you don’t have something like the MATRIX program to follow up detox, you’re really wasting your money.”
Ms Bowering said the cost of the program was inexpensive compared to the resources currently wasted.
“Some of the people in the Berri program were probably on their way to jail and a lot of them, because they did the program, stayed out of jail and that would have saved a lot of costs,” she said.
“Some had lost children, and so there’s the added cost to the community of having children go through foster care.
“The cost of the Government to fund this program is far cheaper than the overall cost of not doing it.”
The report on the pilot program will be presented to the State Government, which will decide whether to further fund the program or introduce it in other regions.
Dr Black said he hoped the Government would fund a MATRIX program in the region on an ongoing basis.
“A hallmark of people who come into the MATRIX program is that they want to stop more than anything else in the world, but they don’t think it’s possible,” he said.
“They’ve given up, and we provide a pathway out of that.
“All of this focuses on people who are ready to change, but there’s a massive cost to the community in terms of loss of human resources and a lot of tragedies that come out of these things.
“A lot of people were suicidal and they’re not now and hopefully they go onto have a really positive impact on the community.
“On a policy level we shouldn’t be asking if the Government is going to fund it on an ongoing basis in regional South Australia – what we should be saying is why wouldn’t you?
“One of the big outcomes from this is that it shows that the program can run really successfully in a regional setting, so we proved the concept.
“Now let’s hope they get it into communities that need it.”