Substance Abuse Glossary

Because terminology can vary from region to region, even within the same state, we are including the following glossary in order to clarify what we mean by certain terms.

Glossary

• Therapeutic housing: Any housing program that is geared to helping its residents grow psychologically, emotionally and socially. This includes halfway houses, three-quarter houses, shelter programs, family care homes, therapeutic communities, etc.
  
  
• Halfway House: A structured living facility that usually has a director and staff who set the rules and policies, a curfew, accountability and a program of growth (i.e., 12-step, Christian, psychosocial) that is designed to teach coping skills and prepare the residents for independent living while remaining abstinent from alcohol and other drugs.
  
  
• Recovery House: This option falls somewhere between a halfway house and a three-quarter house on the thereapeutic housing continuum. A recovery house usually is less structured than a halfway house, but generally has permanent staff with a set of rules that can be changed only by the staff. This makes it more structured than a place such as Oxford House, which is run by the residents and whose rules can be changed by majority vote.
  
  
• Three-Quarter House: A structured living facility that is run by and for recovering addicts who vote democratically on any issue that arises in the house and who are committed to an abstinent lifestyle, usually through the 12 steps of recovery. There is usually no paid staff in a three-quarter house. Oxford Houses are three-quarter houses.
  
  
• Family Care Home: This is a facility designed to serve those people whose disabilities prevent them from accomplishing the daily tasks of living. Most will accept recovering addicts, but many are not equipped to deal with them. Usually, a low-income person must be collecting disability to go to a family care home.
  
  
• Therapeutic Community: This is a long-term living program that is highly structured and can often be highly confrontational, as well. There are two basic types of therapeutic communities (TC): those that are Christian and Bible-based, and those that are more vocationally based. The Christian-based communities, such as Teen Challenge, use Bible Study as a basis for their program of recovery. The vocationally based TCs, such as Delancy Street, use a more confrontational style of treatment while providing residents with marketable employment skills that help them move toward independent living.
  
  
• 12-Step Programs: These self-help programs are based on the 12 steps of recovery as laid out by Alcoholics Anonymous. These programs are considered spiritual, rather than religious, in nature.
  
  
• Shelter Programs: This refers to the various homeless shelters that provide more than just a place to sleep and food. Many shelters offer programs designed to foster growth in their residents and to prepare them for and enable them to achieve independent living. These programs are often Christian-based, but some are 12-step-based, and others offer intensive case management.