title: Addiction therapist: a transient status passage in drug rehabilitation.
abstract: The occupations of the first 20 long-term residents in a drug-free therapeutic community are described before admission and during a 2 to 4 year follow-up period. Prior to admission, 11 individuals (55%) were unemployed. At the time of the follow-up, 19 individuals (95%) were either in full-time employment or students, of whom two (10%) were addiction therapists. Five individuals (25%) had been addiction therapists at some time, of whom three had gone on to become full-time students. It is concluded that long-term residence in a therapeutic community is associated with a variety of subsequent occupations and that continued dependence on the community for employment is unusual.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000488:Allied Health Personnel; D004739:England; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D009790:Occupations; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013808:Therapeutic Community