UPDATE ON THE CRYSTAL METHAMPHETAMINE
EDUCATION AND PREVENTION INITIATIVE

The Council of the City of New York
Committee on Mental Health, Mental Retardation, Alcoholism,
Drug Abuse & Disability Services

Hearing
Friday, September 16, 2005

Petros Levounis, M.D., M.A., Director, The Addiction Institute
Joe Ruggiero, Ph.D., Director, The Crystal Clear Project, The Institute
Gerry Horowitz, L.C.S.W., Administrative Director, The Addiction Institute
Paul Rinaldi, Ph.D., Associate Director, The Addiction Institute

The Addiction Institute of New York
St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals
1000 Tenth Avenue
New York, New York 10019
(212) 523-6491
www.AddictionlnstituteNY.org

In January 2005, The Addiction Institute of New York created the Crystal Clear Project with the support of the Council of the City of New York. The Crystal Clear Project was established in order to address the burgeoning problem of crystal methamphetamine use and its link to unsafe sexual practices in the gay and bisexual male community. This report outlines the progress we have made on this project.

The Crystal Clear Project has several goals:

1. TREATMENT: to develop and implement a treatment service for gay and bisexual males who are abusing crystal methamphetamine.
2. TRAINING: train the clinicians at the Addiction Institute of New York to use the Matrix Model that has been successfully used with this population on the west coast.
3. PREVENTION: to provide education about crystal methamphetamine use and abuse to community agencies.
4. OUTREACH: to publicize our service and recruit patients for the Crystal Clear Project.

TREATMENT

  • In March 2005, the outpatient groups began and since that time we have evaluated and treated over 50 men.
  • The program consists of two groups:
    – Crystal meth group psychotherapy three times a week, and
    – Crystal meth group psychotherapy twice a week in the context of an
    intensive outpatient program. This group includes patients who are
    treated in our inpatient rehabilitation unit and come to the specialized crystal meth groups.
  • Patients who actively participate in the program also receive vouchers for attendance using a contingency management system. This helps clients build drug-free activities such as going to the movies, in order to help them maintain change.
  • The initial feedback has been quite positive. Many of the gay men have discussed how they attended other treatment centers that were not specifically designed for gay men and felt very uncomfortable talking about issues such as sexuality.
  • We have contacted Crystal Methamphetamine Anonymous (CMA) and are in the process of beginning a self-help meeting at the Institute.
  • The Matrix Model groups have been incorporated into our intensive day programs at the Addiction Institute so that these patients can also access services that specifically look at crystal methamphetamine use / abuse.
  • Lastly, our inpatient unit is starting to see more clients who are using crystal methamphetamine.

TRAINING

Tom Freese, Ph.D., trained twenty staff members on a cognitive behavioral therapy manual that has been empirically validated with gay and bisexual men who are using crystal methamphetamine.

In addition Dr. Freese provided a larger 3-hour in-service training to over 100 Addiction Institute staff members. The model that are using was developed for gay and bisexual men and not only addresses issues such as drug use but also sexuality, HIV and STDS, and identity.

PREVENTION/EDUCATION

  • As the word has gone out about the Crystal Clear Project, we have been asked to give lectures and seminars at several institutions to help their staff identify methamphetamine use and outline what resources are available. Since January 2005, we have given talks on crystal methamphetamine for:
    – The 1st National Conference on Crystal Methamphetamine in Salt Lake City, Utah,
       in August 2005
    – New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
    – American Society of Addiction Medicine
    – New York Society of Addiction Medicine
    – American Psychiatric Association
    – Columbia University
    – New York University
    – John Jay College of Criminal Justice
    – Mount Sinai School of Medicine
    – St. Vincent’s
    – Greenwich House
    – The AIDS Center of Queens County
    – Bronx MICA Committee
    – World Psychiatric Association
  • We are also educating other treatment providers so they can provide information on crystal methamphetamine to their patients as a prevention tool. For example, we have presented materials to students at City College who are enrolled in a gay and lesbian studies program, as well as to staff at Sylvia’s Place, a shelter for Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian, Transgender, and Queer youth). We have also been asked by Primary Psychiatry to write an article describing our treatment services.

OUTREACH

  • We developed a flyer (see copy attached) that has been used for print ads and handouts.
  • In order to access the clients who need our services we have been advertising in local publications that cater to our target population. Ads went out in three magazines that serve the gay community: HX, Next, and the Village Voice.
  • We also met (and have linkage agreements) with several agencies that service the gay community including the GBLT Community Center, GMHC, and Callen-Lorde.
  • Research groups such as CHEST (Center for HIV Educational Training and Studies) that has been interviewing gay men who are using crystal methamphetamine are also affiliated with the Crystal Clear Project. These groups often identify and provide some brief treatment for these men but have not had the resources to offer them more focused treatment.
  • These visits and conversations with other professionals and organizations have been helpful because they have allowed us to see what resources are available to our patients.
  • We sent information about the Crystal Clear Project to all our professional contacts in the addiction field because many therapists and treatment centers have been looking for a resource to address this issue.
  • Because we are part of a larger hospital system, we have done outreach within the five hospitals of Continuum Health Partners, Inc. (Beth Israel, St. Luke’s Hospital, Roosevelt Hospital, Long Island College Hospital, and New York Eye and Ear Hospital).
  • We are in contact with the Samuels HIV Center and the St. Luke’sRoosevelt Emergency Department to help them identify clients who use crystal methamphetamine and make them aware of treatment services.

We wish to sincerely thank you for your visionary thinking and financial support to establish this very needed service for the citizens of New York City.