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

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

In the second quarter of 2023 (January through March), the Measurement Based Care program moved from completing assessments only at pretreatment and midtreatment to assessing patients every two weeks throughout their stay. This means that results for the second quarter of 2023 were able to capture changes in patients from the start to the end of treatment.

Data from the start of treatment to the end of treatment was collected for 137 people. The average age was 43, with ranges from 19-80 years of age. Fifty percent of people were men, 48% were women and 2% were nonbinary.

In the second quarter of 2023, from the start of treatment to the end of treatment, we found that all psychological symptoms declined. The largest changes were seen in the following areas:

• Average depression scores dropped by 56%.
• Average posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) scores dropped by 45%.
• Average stress scores dropped by 40%.

We also found that cravings for all substances of abuse declined. These changes included:

• A decrease of 71% in alcohol cravings
• A decrease of 56% in marijuana cravings
• A decrease of 95% in sedatives cravings

We also saw improvements in all measures of well-being and healthy psychological functioning, including the following:

• Psychological quality of life increased by 47%.
• Physical quality of life increased by 31%.
• Social quality of life increased by 31%.

We also collected follow-up data on 106 patients after they left treatment using the Connect 365 program. After discharge we found that:

• Patients’ ability to handle stress increased from 3 to 4 out of 5 in the first year out of treatment.
• Patients reported using substances for an average of less than one day a month for the first year out.

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

Outcomes reporting is conducted by Alex Danvers, PhD

At Sierra Tucson, our mood disorder treatment program is designed to meet the unique needs of people who are struggling with various mental health concerns. Our multidisciplinary approach to treatment combines traditional and alternative therapies to treat the whole person — mind, body and spirit.

People who are enrolled in the mood disorder program at Sierra Tucson complete the Comprehensive Psychological Profile (CPP) upon admission and then again after two weeks of treatment. According to data from the mood treatment program outcomes report, patients experienced significant improvements in the following areas:

• Overall depression symptoms decreased by 45%.
• Overall anxiety symptoms decreased by 27%.
• The number of pain-related interruptions in daily life decreased by 15%.
• Self-reported sleep disturbances decreased by 21%.
• Perceived stress levels decreased by 33%.
• Feelings related to suicidal thoughts and self-harm decreased to nearly zero.

After discharge, 616 of the patients who originally participated in the CPP completed a posttreatment survey through the Connect 365 app. This data was collected at various points during the first year after treatment and revealed the following:

• Before treatment, patients reported having to go to the hospital or emergency room an average of 3.5 days per month. After treatment, this value was one-tenth of the original — 0.32 days per month.
• Before treatment, patients reported using substances an average of 10 days a month. After treatment, the average was one day a month.
• Before treatment, patients reported average or below average quality of life, satisfaction with relationships and ability to manage stress. After treatment, the average score on all these measures was above average (4 out of 5).

These mental health treatment statistics show that early in treatment, patients experience an improvement in energy levels and sleep patterns, get more involved in activities and start to stabilize. After treatment, patients maintain strong improvements in overall quality of life, emotion regulation skills and confidence that they can rely on social support in the future.

At Sierra Tucson, our addiction recovery program supports people who are struggling with drug and alcohol addictions. Patients who need immediate stabilization can enter our behavioral health inpatient unit for detox before transitioning to our residential program. Patients who participate in our drug addiction recovery program complete the CPP upon admission and then again two weeks later. Statistics from the addiction treatment outcomes report show that our programs quickly improve treatment outcomes:

• Patients report a reduction of more than 50% in cravings for alcohol, marijuana, painkillers, stimulants, methamphetamine, heroin and other substances.
• Patients experienced reductions in comorbid mental health symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, stress and chronic pain symptoms.
• Overall quality of life improved by 48%.

Following discharge, 349 patients who completed the CPP filled out a postdischarge survey through the Connect 365 app. Data was collected after an average of four months posttreatment, and participants from the addiction recovery program reported the following:

• Before treatment, patients attended support groups an average of three days per month. After completing the program, they attended groups an average of 12 days per month.
• After treatment, patients experienced a 52% improvement in relationship satisfaction.
• Before receiving treatment, patients used substances an average of 10 days out of every month. After treatment, patients used substances less than once per month (0.95 days).
• After treatment, patients generally require less medical treatment and are more compliant with treatment plans they receive from doctors and therapists.

Sierra Tucson’s addiction recovery program provides vital support and stabilization services for people who are struggling with addictions. Posttreatment statistics demonstrate that patients are more engaged in support groups, have higher relationship satisfaction, use substances less and are more compliant with treatment plans, indicating the program’s effectiveness in helping people achieve long-term recovery.

Sierra Tucson offers a trauma recovery program for adults to help them stabilize and experience enhanced daily functioning and overall quality of life. Our program focuses on helping people process the effects of trauma and equips them with resources to support them in their healing journeys.

Patients who entered the trauma recovery and PTSD treatment program completed the CPP upon admission and then again after two weeks. Statistics from the trauma recovery program outcomes report reveal positive findings for patients who engaged in treatment:

• Overall PTSD symptoms, such as intrusive thoughts, avoidance, troubled mood and hyperarousal, decreased by an average of 33%.
• Depression scores declined by an average of 45%.
• Stress decreased by an average of 33%.
• Anxiety decreased by an average of 27%.

After discharge, 349 of the patients who participated in the CPP filled out a posttreatment survey through the Connect 365 app. Data was gathered throughout the first year after discharge, and trauma and PTSD recovery outcomes were overwhelmingly positive:

• Patients’ overall quality of life improved by 51%.
• Patients’ ability to handle stress improved by 72%.
• Patients’ relationship satisfaction improved by 36%.
• Before treatment, patients reported an average of 10 days per month when they used substances. After treatment, that value is less than two days per month (1.62 days).
• After treatment, people needed fewer medical treatments, were more compliant with treatment recommendations and attended more voluntary support groups.

These trauma recovery statistics show how Sierra Tucson’s programming is highly effective in helping people find relief from PTSD symptoms and symptoms of comorbid mental health concerns, such as depression, anxiety, chronic pain, stress, substance use and sleep disturbances. The program has also helped people experience significant improvements in their overall quality of life. Gains made at Sierra Tucson were maintained after leaving in areas such as relationship satisfaction, treatment compliance and engagement in support groups.