Alcoholism/Drug AbuseCognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Psychosocial support for recovering alcohol-dependent patients

As part of an integrative program there are three options for psychosocial support.

They include cognitive behavioral coping skills therapy (CBT), motivational enhancement therapy (MET), and 12-step facilitation (TSF). Each is discussed as part of an integrated approach to the management of recovering alcohol-dependent patients in a review by Louise Epperson, MSN, CRNP published in the journal Advanced Studies in Nursing.

With respect to efficacy, the Project MATCH Research Group states that “in the outpatient setting there appears to be a temporary advantage to assigning individuals to CBT or TSF rather than MET. When there is a need to quickly reduce heavy drinking and alcohol-related consequences, it appears that CBT or TSF should be the treatment of choice.”

7/5/06 21:43 JR

Hi, I’m JR

John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.