title: [Controlled drinking for alcohol-dependent patients].
abstract: Controlled drinking should be included in the treatment of alcohol-dependent patients. Research has showed that treatment plans which allow controlled drinking as a possible outcome yield better results in the long run than those in which abstinence is imposed. Controlled drinking can be a goal in itself, a step towards abstinence or a way of limiting alcohol-related problems. Accepting that the patient set his own treatment goals helps reinforce therapeutic rapport and diminish drop-out. Furthermore, the treatment approach becomes more finely-shaded, as it helps patients not to waver continuously between abstinence and massive drinking.
authors.affiliation: Centre de traitement en alcoologie, Département universitaire de médecine et santé communautaires CHUV, 1011 Lausanne. anais.albrecht@chuv.ch
authors.forename: Anais
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Albrecht
authors.forename: Jean-Bernard
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Daeppen
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans