Clients talk about working with case managers:

“They stick with me through thick and thin, no matter how much I’m using. They don’t give up on me.” “[People need] help with lots of things: legal issues, applying for . . . tax credits, health issues—it helps to have someone sort it out.”

“Case managers have to advocate for us with other services.”

Opioid addiction is on the rise in Ontario, particularly to prescription medications, and methadone maintenance is recognized as an effective treatment. Research shows that involving case managers in clients’ addiction treatment leads to improved outcomes.

The first evidence-based guide written for case managers working in MMT in Ontario, this book describes their roles of co-ordination, counselling and advocacy at the hub of a circle of collaborative, professional care. It makes recommendations about what clinicians, the agencies they work for, policy makers and funding bodies need to do to achieve and support best practice in case management.

Composite case studies, practice points and clients’ quotations illustrate how these practices apply in different clinical scenarios. As the number of clients entering MMT grows, the need for case management becomes all the more urgent. This book guides those who guide clients to the help they need.

Kate Tschakovsky, MSW, RSW, clinical social worker, Schizophrenia Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Ms. Tschakovsky has worked in a variety of community settings, including women’s shelters, programs for young offenders and prisons. At CAMH, she has been involved in a range of areas, including methadone treatment, women’s and youth programming and HIV services; she currently works in the Schizophrenia Program. Ms. Tschakovsky has written for and collaborated extensively on several treatment-related manuals and books. Her current interests are the evaluation and implementation of harm reduction strategies in addiction services, and concurrent disorders.

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