Understanding the client characteristics of Aboriginal residential alcohol and other drug rehabilitation services in New South Wales, Australia

Table 1 Overview of the key service characteristics of the Aboriginal alcohol and other drug residential rehabilitation services in New South Wales (NSW), Australia

Key services provided	Study sites
Key services provided	Namatjira Haven	The Glen Centre	Weigelli	Orana Haven	Oolong House	Maayu Mali
Client assessments
Pre-entry^a	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Program entry (week 1)^b	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Mid-program (weeks 4–8)^c	✓ (week 6)	✓ (week 4)	✓(week 6)	✓(week 6)	✓ (week 4)	✗
Program exit (week 12–16)^d	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Eligibility	Males 18 years +	Males 18 years +	Males/females/couples 18 years +	Males 18 years +	Males 18 years +	Males/females 18 years +
Treatment options
Length (weeks)	12 to 36	12	12	12 to 52	16+ (individual plans)	12
Bed numbers	16	20 (program) 18 (transition)	18	16	21	14 (males) 4 (females)
Manage withdrawal syndrome	✓ (2 beds)	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Treatment components and other health care
1. Cultural healing^e	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
2. Case management	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
3. Education/life skills	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Other outside programs	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
4. Therapeutic activities:
Group work	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Counselling (SEWB support)^f	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Physical health check (GPs)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
5. Time out from substances	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
6. Aftercare planning/support^g	(Opportunistic)^h	(Transition, 3–12 months)ⁱ	(Planned to 6-months)^j	(Opportunistic)	(Planned to 12-months)	(Planned to 12-months)

^aInitial assessment: occurs when clients first make contact with service; typically done by phone
^bWeek 1: Client enters service, undertakes orientation to service and health checks (medical), care plan is developed
^cWeek 4–8: Progress reviews typically occur at Week 6 but can be conducted when needed
^dWeek 12: Program exit assessment (at program completion) typically at Week 12, except for Oolong House where exit interviews occur in Week 16
^eAll services have cultural healing and safety embedded in their program, including regular cultural activities (e.g. learning culture and language)
^fSocial and emotional wellbeing programs are typically run by Aboriginal mental health workers, with counsellors and other health professionals
^gAftercare planning typically begins at Week 8 but can occur earlier if needed (e.g. accommodation post-treatment)
^hOpportunistic refers to when a service is able to allocate time to undertake after care support
ⁱTransition refers to when a client is moves between a residential client into the community
^jPlanned refers to a planned systematic approach to aftercare that begins whilst a residential client

ISSN: 1940-0640