Among the contemporary social and medical problems, drug dependence ranks as one of the most devastating and costly. According to EMCDDA, there were 1.3 million opioid users in Europe for 2014 alone, among which 30.000 pregnant women and 6,000 users who passed away due to drug use. The main suggested therapies for the drug withdrawal period and relapse prevention are pharmacological, such as the administration of opioid agonists, non-agonists and antagonists. However, scientific research has shown that these forms of treatment carry a high risk for continued physical dependence and have been found to be insufficient in treating substance dependence without additional treatment. For these reasons different therapeutic modalities have been introduced independently or as an adjunct therapy and have proven to be effective in facilitating detoxification and sustaining abstinence during drug rehabilitation. Music therapy is one of them, as it has gained therapists' interest due to its capacity to have a significantly positive impact on the physical, psychological, mental and social functions of drug addicted individuals. However, despite the scientific evidence concerning the benefits of musical interventions for the treatment of drug addiction, a surprisingly large gap exists in regards to a properly organized network of information dissemination and, more importantly, of professionals' education and training. The aim of the proposed project is the creation of a European-level strategic partnership and know-how exchange network and the preparation, development and implementation of a large-scale training program on the use of music as an complementary therapeutic intervention during the detoxification and rehabilitation processes of individuals suffering from drug dependence. The project's acronym is MUS.I.C.D.A.RE. (MUSic In Creative Detoxification And REhabilitation). The target population of the project are 210 carers, therapists, psychologists, social workers, volunteers and ex-drug dependent individuals employed or intending to be actively involved or employed in drug detoxification and rehabilitation centers in Europe. Emphasis will be given on balancing transnational and national participants in the training programs, and in attracting ex-drug addicted individuals to participate as trainees. The project will consist of the following activities: 1) Exchange of know-how, expertise and best practices among researchers, specialists and practitioners in the specific field of using music as an interventional therapeutic approach in the detoxification and rehabilitation processes of drug dependent individuals. 2) Design of a unified - accredited - training program for the aforementioned target group, on the use of music in the detoxification and rehabilitation process of drug dependent individuals, consisting of educating participants on the theoretical principles, research findings but mainly of providing workshop-type learning experiences (experiential learning of principles, methodology and practical applications) through study visits, on-site observations, and 'learning-by-doing'. 3) Creation of the project’s portal. 4) Implementation of the 7-day MUS.I.C.D.A.RE. joint staff training program in the three participating countries. 5) Development and implementation of the E-course (E-MUS.I.C.D.A.RE.) with participants from across Europe for multiplying effects. 6) Evaluation of the three implementations of the 7-day MUS.I.C.D.A.RE training event and the E-MUS.I.C.D.A.RE course. 7) Creation of an E-book titled "Handbook of Best Practices: Music in Creative Detoxification and Rehabilitation". 8) Multiplier Activities: Mid- conference, final conference, closing festival. 9) Dissemination activities throughout the life of the project. 10 Creation of the MUS.I.C.D.A.RE. Network. The proposed partnership is expected to offer high quality learning opportunities and expand professional knowledge and skills of professionals and/or practitioners employed or interested to be employed in detoxification and rehabilitation centers for drug-addicted individuals. It will also bridge the gap between the scientific community, the active field of addiction treatment and the related labor markets via the exchange of significant know-how. This can result in the amelioration of the strategic development, organizational management and quality of learning provision both for scientific experts and the therapeutic personnel of the rehabilitation centers. Furthermore, this partnership envisions fostering equity, inclusion and high quality targeted activities in education, training and youth in order to promote the personal, social and professional growth and reinsertion of ex- drug addicted individuals. The project aspires that by the time it ends, a different picture in the additive treatment modalities for drug addiction will be created, not only at national but also at European and international level.
Among the contemporary social and medical problems, drug dependence ranks as one of the most devastating and costly. The main suggested therapies for the drug withdrawal period and relapse prevention are pharmacological. However, research has shown that these forms of treatment carry a high risk for continued physical dependence and have been found to be insufficient in treating substance dependence without additional treatment. Recently, the use of music interventions in therapy has gained therapists' interest due to its capacity to have a positive impact on the physical, psychological, mental and social functions of drug addicted individuals. Despite the scientific evidence concerning the benefits of musical interventions for the treatment of drug addiction, a surprisingly large gap existed in regards to a properly organized network of information dissemination and, more importantly, of related education and training. The aim of the project was the creation of a European-level strategic partnership and know-how exchange network and the development and implementation of a training program on the use of music as an complementary therapeutic intervention in the detoxification and rehabilitation processes of drug-addicted individuals. The target population were carers, therapists, psychologists, social workers, musicians, volunteers and ex-drug dependent individuals involved or intending to be actively involved in community programs and drug detoxification and rehabilitation centers in Europe. Emphasis was placed on balancing transnational and national participants in the training programs, and on attracting ex-drug addicted individuals to formally or informally participate as trainees. The project consisted of the following: 1) Exchange of know-how, expertise and best practices among researchers, academics and practitioners in the field of using music as an additive treatment modally in addiction therapy. 2) Design a unified training program on the use of music in the detoxification and rehabilitation process of drug dependent individuals, consisting of theoretical principles, research findings, applications, workshop-type learning experiences and on-site observations. 3) Implementation of the MUS.I.C.D.A.RE. 7-day joint staff training program in Greece, France, and U.K. 5) Development and implementation of the MUSICDARE E-course. 6) Evaluation of the 7-day training event and the E-course implementations (five research studies). 7) Creation of the E-book "Handbook of Best Practices: Music in Creative Detoxification and Rehabilitation". 8) Implementation of Multiplier Activities: Mid- conference (U.K.), final conference (France), closing festival (Greece). 9) Dissemination activities throughout the life of the project and after the end of it to maximize its impact. The project achieved all above objectives. There was an excellent exchange of know-how among experts from the partnership which involved academics, researchers and practitioners on the subject, thus contributing to the creation of an eclectic curriculum comprised of a variety of theoretical principles, techniques and approaches to using music as a facilitator and as an additive treatment modality in community or therapeutic settings with drug addicted individuals. The training activities, both face-to-face joint staff training events implementations and e-course implementations, were found to be very effective in increasing trainees’ skills, knowledge and attitudes toward drug addiction and the use of music in therapeutic settings. The participants also experienced transnational cooperation and received educational experiences of high quality.The project outputs (Coursepack, E-book) will multiply the effects of the project for a long time after its end. The project further achieved: (a) attraction of a great amount of interest to the issue of using music as an additive treatment modality with drug addicted individuals; (b) bridging the gaps between the scientific community and the active field of addiction treatment, as researchers, academics, and practitioners worked hand-in-hand to create a course of study that affected both amateurs and professionals; (c) production of further interest on the subject and related training (d) Positive effects on attitudes towards drug addiction, drug addicted individuals and the use of music in addiction therapy; (e) opportunities offered to a vulnerable group (ex-drug addicted individuals) for participation in the project activities; (f) strong indications for the need to create an adjusted version of the training, make it accessible to larger numbers of individuals to include more ex-addicted persons (g) new perspectives, as the project brought partners in contact with public authorities, therapeutic communities, educational institutions and community centers, thus creating a net of organizations interested to follow up on the MUSICDARE project, through projects to come.