A trial of "standard" outpatient alcoholism treatment vs. a minimal treatment control.
This study sought to examine the effectiveness of a "standard" outpatient alcoholism treatment (ST) program. An outpatient alcoholism treatment as it is commonly practiced in the US (with group and individual therapy, and an emphasis on Alcoholics Anonymous [AA]), was compared with a minimal treatment (MT) approach (weekly alcohol education movies). At 6 months, ST patients surpassed those in MT in terms of complete abstinence, reduction in amount of alcohol consumed, length of sobriety at follow-up, improvement in employment status, number of AA meetings attended, and lower initial drop-out. It is concluded that a ST approach is more helpful than MT in treating severely alcohol-dependent individuals who have not been able to cut down drinking on their own. Those already drinking less appeared to be helped by MT.
Alcohol Dependency Treatment Program, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 00MH, 130 W. Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, NY 10468, USA. william.davis2@med.va.gov
William T
WT
Davis
Larry
L
Campbell
Judith
J
Tax
Charles S
CS
Lieber
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010045:Outpatients; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013695:Temperance; D016896:Treatment Outcome