IFT - Institut für Therapieforschung
Germany
The IFT is a non governmental and non-profit organization in the field of substance-related disorders and pathological gambling behavior (epidemiology, prevention, treatment and care systems) with several post graduate training and further education programmes. According to its articles of incorporation the task of the Institute for Therapy Research to promote public health. The IFT serves its statutory purpose by planning, realizing and supporting scientific research projects with an emphasis in the field of substance-related disorders (epidemiology, prevention, treatment and care systems) and pathological gambling behavior for many years. Furthermore, the IFT fulfils its statutory mission by offering a wide range of post graduate and continued education programs for professionals in the social and health sector, by giving scientific advice to authorities, care facilities and associations, by various service tasks for clinical documentation systems and last but not least by offering an information service. These and other services provided by the IFT are supposed to improve the public health system on the basis of the current state of scientific knowledge. The IFT was founded in 1973 by Prof. Dr. mult. Johannes C. Brengelmann and other scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry as an independent institute. In 1998 it celebrated its 25th anniversary. In the early years the emphasis was on applied psychological researchcomprising a variety of health and social topics. From 1988 onwards, research focused more and more on studies on substance-related disorders and pathological gambling. Of the approximately 40 employees of the Institute, 25 are among the academic staff, most of them psychologists. In addition, there are several free-lance contributors mainly from the educational sector as well as trainees and students. The IFT is a non governmental and non-profit organization with limited liability. The IFT receives financial support from the public sector, mainly from federal ministries, federal and regional authorities, associations and EU-organizations. Current research projects are for instance studies on the protection and risk factors for the development and course of drug use as well as on the prevention of substance abuse in schools. Other research activities deal with studies on the nature and extent of pathological gambling behavior at gambling machines. The scientific evaluation of public demonstration projects in the treatment sector comprises a vast spectrum of tasks: participation in the planning of demonstration projects, counseling and further education for the staff of the facilities participating in the projects, evaluation of the course and the outcome of the projects as well as the elaboration of conclusions (for example structures, guidelines) in order to transfer scientific knowledge from theory into practice. Examples are the demonstration projects "Care of Drug Addicts on Farms" and "Counseling for substance abusers in Bavarian penal institutions by external professionals". An expert report represents the scientific findings and expert knowledge on a specific topic and mostly contains conclusions as to the need for research and practical improvements. Examples are the "Expert report on primary prevention" or the participation in the expert group: "Alcohol abuse and alcohol-related disorders in Germany".