Skip to Main Content

The Holistic Health Recovery Program (HHRP+) for the treatment of drug-addicted individuals with HIV disease

HHRP is a Centers for Disease Control DEBI (Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions) project: (for more information go to www.EfffectiveInterventions.org)

HHRP+ Group Therapy Treatment Manual for Health Care Providers

HHRP+ is a psychotherapeutic intervention dedicated to Harm Reduction, Health Promotion, and Improved Quality of Life for individuals with HIV disease who are addicted to illicit drugs. It utilizes cognitive remediation strategies (e.g., multimodal presentation of material) to facilitate acquisition and retention of new harm reduction skills and to increase motivation for behavior change.

The primary goals of the Holistic Health Recovery Program (HHRP+) are as follows:

1. Harm Reduction.

HIV-positive drug users are viewed as autonomous individuals responsible for making personal choices concerning drug use and sexual behaviors that pose varying degrees of risk to self and others.
  • Thus, the primary goal of HHRP+ is to provide HIV-positive drug users with the resources (knowledge, motivation, and skills) they need to make informed choices that will result in reducing harm to self and others.
  • Continued high risk behavior is addressed clinically, without judgment, but in accordance with federal, state, and local laws.

2. Health Promotion.

HIV-positive drug users have unique medical and psychosocial problems that may contribute to illicit drug use and other high risk behaviors. Furthermore, chronic drug users with HIV infection may enter treatment with some degree of neuropsychological and/or psychiatric impairment that can prevent them from benefiting optimally from traditional cognitively-based risk reduction and relapse prevention techniques. Addressing these problems may help clients make healthy lifestyle choices that reduce harm to self and others.
  • Thus, in addition to providing substance abuse treatment, HHRP+ addresses medical, emotional, and social problems that may impede harm reduction. Abstinence from illicit drugs is viewed as just one of several treatment goals. Others include reduced drug use, reduced risk of HIV transmission, and improved medical, psychological, and social functioning.
  • To further facilitate harm reduction, HHRP+ uses cognitive-remediation strategies to improve knowledge, increase motivation, and teach skills needed for harm reduction and health promotion.

3. Quality of Life.

Being well involves living well. For most people, living well includes being able to experience serenity in the expression of their lives. Helping individuals to experience an intrinsic sense of well-being may contribute to this and consequently to a reduction in behaviors that cause harm to self and others.
  • Thus, HHRP+ uses a holistic approach to treatment in that it views clients not as "addicts" primarily in need of drug counseling, but as complex human beings in search of physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being.
  • Sessions include relaxation strategies to help achieve inner peace amidst a sometimes chaotic environment
  • Clients' spiritual and religious beliefs are respected and integrated with treatment to facilitate risk reduction, health promotion, and improved quality of life.

Manuals

The entire HHRP+ Counselor's Manual can be downloaded as Adobe pdf files (for the script for counselors and the client handouts) and as MS Powerpoint files (for the visual presentation included in each HHRP+ group). To begin downloading, click on the Adobe pdf and MS Powerpoint files below. Note: separate pdf and powerpoint files are provided for each group in order to reduce file size; however, they may still take several minutes to download when using a modem.

pdf files

(click to download)

Power-
point files
HHRP+ Cover Page
Table of Contents and HHRP+ overview
Group 1: Reaching your goalsTextHandoutsSlides
Group 2: Reducing the harm of injection drug useTextHandoutsSlides
Group 3: Sexual harm reduction with latexTextHandoutsSlides
Group 4: Negotiating harm reduction w/partnersTextHandoutsSlides
Group 5: Preventing relapse to risky behaviorTextHandoutsSlides
Group 6: Health care participationTextHandoutsSlides
Group 7: Healthy lifestyle choicesTextHandoutsSlides
Group 8: Introduction to the 12 StepsTextHandoutsSlides
Group 9: Overcoming stigmaTextHandoutsSlides
Group 10: Motivation: Overcoming helplessnessTextHandoutsSlides
Group 11: Moving beyond griefTextHandoutsSlides
Group 12: Healthy social relationships and activitiesTextHandoutsSlides
HHRP+ Client Completion Certificate

Click here for a link to the downloadable HHRP+ Client Workbook (for HIV-positive drug users)

Click here for a link to the downloadable HHRP Group Therapy Treatment Manual (for HIV-undifferentiated drug users)

Click here for a link to the downloadable HHRP Client Workbook (for HIV-serostatus undifferentiated)

Click here to download a counselor script and client handout packet for the "make-up" HIV/hepatitis educational session to be provided to clients who miss one or more of the relevant harm reduction groups