Psychotherapy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Psychotherapy, including details on psychiatry, psychoanalysis, methods, outcomes.

Learning sobriety together: A randomized clinical trial examining behavioral couples therapy with alcoholic female patients.

Fals-Stewart W, Birchler GR, Kelley ML

Addiction and Family Research Group, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.

Married or cohabiting female alcoholic patients (n = 138) and their non-substance-abusing male partners were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 equally intensive interventions: (a) behavioral couples therapy plus individual-based treatment (BCT; n = 46), (b) individual-based treatment only (IBT; n = 46), or (c) psychoeducational attention control treatment (PACT; n = 46). During treatment, participants in BCT showed significantly greater improvement in dyadic adjustment than those in IBT or PACT; drinking frequency was not significantly different among participants in the different conditions. During the 1-year posttreatment follow-up, compared with participants who received IBT or PACT, participants who received BCT reported (a) fewer days of drinking, (b) fewer drinking-related negative consequences, (c) higher dyadic adjustment, and (d) reduced partner violence.

Published 6 July 2006 in J Consult Clin Psychol, 74(3): 579-91.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Psychotherapy Research Today. All Rights Reserved.