Vilavi uses recognized approaches led by qualified staff benefiting from continuous training. These approaches include the cognitive-behavioral approach [1], relapse prevention [2], the therapeutic community [3] and motivational interviewing [4]. These interventions have as a common basis the search for and the maintenance of a « therapeutic alliance », that is to say a relationship of partnership between the user and the counselor, grounded on humanistic principles and dedicated to the accomplishment of the personal project. Vilavi’s program is part of a biopsychosocial perspective, that is, it takes into account the whole person, with their strengths and difficulties, at the biological, psychological and social levels.

As the harm reduction model, Vilavi’s approach is meant to be humanistic, that is, based on people’s needs and aspirations and pragmatic, therefore based on their skills and interests. It is an approach that is based on respect for people’s ability to improve their quality of life, to acquire autonomy that allows them to make informed choices with regard to drug consumption. The objective of the program is to help the person to gain autonomy and therefore to regain power over their life, depending on their specific project: social or professional integration, abstinence or controlled consumption, housing project, etc…


[1] Cognitive behavioral therapy inspires several activities in the program, both in personalized follow-up and during specific group workshops (understanding the mechanisms that trigger consumption, learning skills aimed at better managing risky situations, alternatives to consumption, etc.).

[2] The relapse prevention approach is implemented during post-program follow-up in order to strengthen the feeling of personal efficiency and strategies for avoiding or managing risky situations.

[3] The therapeutic community (TC) aims to support the person in his process of change through relearning of social life, with its rules and constraints. TC, made up of peers, staff and the community itself, represents the model of a stable and structuring « family » particularly conducive to the avoidance of antisocial behavior.

[4] Used on admission and during the program, with the objective of helping the person to resolve their possible ambivalence (« To continue the program or not, for what purpose? »), Identify the desired change and implement it. implemented.