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15 - Educational interventions for alcohol use disorders

from Part III - Specific treatments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2010

By
Robert Patton ,
Kirk J. Brower ,
Shannon Bellefleur  and
Mike Crawford
Edited by
Peter Tyrer  and
Kenneth R. Silk
Robert Patton
Affiliation:
National Addiction Centre London UK
Kirk J. Brower
Affiliation:
University of Michigan Addiction Research Center Rachel Upjohn Building Ann Arbor, MI USA
Shannon Bellefleur
Affiliation:
University of Michigan Addiction Psychiatry Training Program Ann Arbor, MI USA
Mike Crawford
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine Imperial College London Claybrook Centre Charing Cross Campus London UK
Peter Tyrer
Affiliation:
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London
Kenneth R. Silk
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
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Summary

Editor's note

Educational interventions are ubiquitous in psychiatry (see Part II: Chapter 6). They are readily available, inexpensive to deliver, and can be facilitated and disseminated by non-professionals. Educational interventions have long been a staple element of treatment for problems with alcohol. They accompany many of the self-help and complex interventions used in alcohol treatment. While these interventions may be efficient from an economical point of view, they are at best only modestly effective and appear to work best among people with mild to moderate abuse. They also appear to work most effectively when combined with some additional treatment delivered by people professionally trained to deliver services. Overall didactic lectures and educational films appear to have the least benefit.

Introduction

Education is inherent in most alcohol-related treatment interventions. Physician education about medication is one essential part of pharmacotherapy. Brief interventions provide educational feedback to patients about normative patterns of drinking. Twelve-step facilitation therapy involves educating patients about the disease model of alcoholism and what to expect in meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous (Nowinski et al., 1994). CBT teaches patients (1) to identify high-risk situations for relapse and (2) coping skills to prevent relapse (Kadden et al., 1995).

Educational interventions are designed to increase knowledge about alcohol in such a way as to change an individual's attitude and behaviour. Providing information about health risks and brief advice emphasizing strategies to reduce consumption are the only interventions that have been recommended for both hazardous and harmful consumption of alcohol.

Type
Chapter
Information
Cambridge Textbook of Effective Treatments in Psychiatry , pp. 314 - 319
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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  • Educational interventions for alcohol use disorders
    • By Robert Patton, National Addiction Centre London UK, Kirk J. Brower, University of Michigan Addiction Research Center Rachel Upjohn Building Ann Arbor, MI USA, Shannon Bellefleur, University of Michigan Addiction Psychiatry Training Program Ann Arbor, MI USA, Mike Crawford, Department of Psychological Medicine Imperial College London Claybrook Centre Charing Cross Campus London UK
  • Edited by Peter Tyrer, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, Kenneth R. Silk, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • Book: Cambridge Textbook of Effective Treatments in Psychiatry
  • Online publication: 12 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511544392.017
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  • Educational interventions for alcohol use disorders
    • By Robert Patton, National Addiction Centre London UK, Kirk J. Brower, University of Michigan Addiction Research Center Rachel Upjohn Building Ann Arbor, MI USA, Shannon Bellefleur, University of Michigan Addiction Psychiatry Training Program Ann Arbor, MI USA, Mike Crawford, Department of Psychological Medicine Imperial College London Claybrook Centre Charing Cross Campus London UK
  • Edited by Peter Tyrer, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, Kenneth R. Silk, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • Book: Cambridge Textbook of Effective Treatments in Psychiatry
  • Online publication: 12 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511544392.017
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Educational interventions for alcohol use disorders
    • By Robert Patton, National Addiction Centre London UK, Kirk J. Brower, University of Michigan Addiction Research Center Rachel Upjohn Building Ann Arbor, MI USA, Shannon Bellefleur, University of Michigan Addiction Psychiatry Training Program Ann Arbor, MI USA, Mike Crawford, Department of Psychological Medicine Imperial College London Claybrook Centre Charing Cross Campus London UK
  • Edited by Peter Tyrer, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, Kenneth R. Silk, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • Book: Cambridge Textbook of Effective Treatments in Psychiatry
  • Online publication: 12 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511544392.017
Available formats
×