Imaginal retraining reduces alcohol craving in problem drinkers: A randomized controlled trial

Retraining, a psychological intervention derived from the approach-avoidance paradigm, has yielded mixed results for the treatment of alcohol use disorder as well as other forms of addiction. The present study investigated the efficacy of an imaginal variant of retraining that allowed greater person...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry 2019-09, Vol.64, p.158-166
Main Authors: Moritz, Steffen, Paulus, Alia Marie, Hottenrott, Birgit, Weierstall, Roland, Gallinat, Jürgen, Kühn, Simone
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictions
Alcohol related disorders
Alcohol use
Alcohol use disorder
Alcoholism
Approach-Avoidance
Attrition
Clinical research
Clinical trials
Control groups
Craving
Drinking behavior
Efficacy
Email
Imagery
Problem drinkers
Psychological intervention
Retraining
Self esteem
Substance abuse treatment
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Retraining, a psychological intervention derived from the approach-avoidance paradigm, has yielded mixed results for the treatment of alcohol use disorder as well as other forms of addiction. The present study investigated the efficacy of an imaginal variant of retraining that allowed greater personalization of the content. Within the framework of a randomized controlled trial (RCT), 84 individuals with self-reported alcohol-related problems were recruited over the Internet and allocated to either imaginal retraining (treatment manual dispatched as a pdf-file via email) or a wait-list control group (with care-as-usual). The intervention period was four weeks. Alcohol craving, as measured with a visual analogue scale (VAS), served as the primary outcome. Other emotional (e.g. self-esteem) and drinking-related variables served as secondary outcomes. Both per-protocol (PP) and intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses showed that imaginal retraining led to a significant reduction in alcohol craving compared to the control group at a large effect size. Self-esteem improved in the retraining condition relative to controls in the PP and one of the ITT analyses; 75% of the individuals in the treatment group reported less alcohol consumption in the treatment period, whereas drinking behavior remained essentially unchanged in the control group (p 
ISSN:0005-7916
1873-7943
DOI:10.1016/j.jbtep.2019.04.001