Sierra Tucson Addiction & Mental Health Outcomes, Measures, & Statistics

Every year, Sierra Tucson Director of Treatment Outcomes Alex Danvers, Ph.D., creates a summary report of the latest outcomes for Sierra Tucson. 

The Measurement-Based Care program requires residents to complete assessments at pretreatment, midtreatment and every two weeks throughout their stay. This means that results are able to capture changes in residents from the start to the end of treatment. 

In 2025, data from the start of treatment to the end of treatment was collected for 1,251 people. The average age was 41, with ranges from 18–83 years of age. In this group, 51.7% of people were male, 45.6% were female and 2.7% identified as nonbinary or “other.” Approximately 13% of the resident demographic were Veterans and 13% were first responders, including police officers, firefighters and paramedics.

From the start of treatment to the end of treatment, we found that residents experienced clinically significant improvement in psychological symptoms. Although all mental health symptoms assessed declined over the course of residential treatment, there were particularly dramatic drops in depression, anxiety and PTSD symptoms.

Percentage of Residents Who Experienced Mental Health Symptom Improvement

There were also statistically significant declines in cravings for all substances of abuse during the course of residential treatment. Several particularly large decreases were seen in cravings for alcohol, painkillers and sedatives. 

We also saw improvements in all measures of well-being and healthy psychological functioning. Throughout the course of residential treatment, the largest gains were seen in three domains of quality of life. 

We collected follow-up data on 203 residents after they left treatment using the Connect 365 program. After discharge, we found that: 

• Residents’ ability to handle stress increased from 3.4 to 3.8 out of 5 in the first year out of treatment. 

• Residents’ quality of life increased from 3.7 to 3.8 out of 5 in the first year out of treatment. 

• Residents’ satisfaction with relationships increased from 3.7 to 3.8 out of 5 in the first year out of treatment. 

These results show that Sierra Tucson improves mental health and psychological functioning during treatment and that those gains are maintained after leaving treatment. 

In 2025, we added a “Recovery Opportunity Cohort” tracking system that notifies providers when a resident is having a slower-than-usual response to treatment so that we can better address their needs. 

In 2025, members of our outcomes program presented research at national and international psychology conferences. 

• We validated a new short measure of coping for a clinical population. 

• We presented analyses finding that different factors are important for predicting suicidal ideation in Veterans and first responders, as compared with civilians. 

The Service Resiliency Unit (SRU) at Sierra Tucson is a specialized program that is dedicated to providing care for Veterans of the U.S. armed forces and first responders. The team at Sierra Tucson is well-equipped to treat Veterans and is endorsed by the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) as a trusted wellness resource for law enforcement professionals and their families. 

From the start of treatment to the end of treatment, we found that Veteran and first responder residents in our SRU program experienced clinically significant improvement in psychological symptoms, notably in the areas presented below.  

The Sierra Tucson residential and inpatient programs assess residents and track treatment progress through the Measurement-Based Care (MBC) program. This program provides a comprehensive assessment of 19 key outcomes for each resident, including mental health symptoms, substance cravings and overall well-being. We use this data to help residents gain greater insight into themselves, to help therapists and medical care providers create and update treatment plans, and to track the overall success of our facility and treatment programs. 

Sierra Tucson also monitors residents’ long-term mental health outcomes after treatment. We offer former residents, referred to as alumni, free access to the Connect 365 app-based program for a year after their discharge. This program connects alumni with coaches who can help them set goals and discuss their postdischarge care plans. Some alumni choose to complete a postdischarge survey through the Connect 365 app, and the feedback they provide helps us gain a deeper understanding of how well Sierra Tucson’s programming prepares residents for life after treatment.  

This page contains information on treatment outcomes for residents at Sierra Tucson and after discharge from Sierra Tucson. 

Outcomes reporting is conducted by Alex Danvers, Ph.D.