CUE EXPOSURE WITH COPING SKILLS TREATMENT FOR MALE ALCOHOLICS - A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

Although early investigations were promising, no controlled follow-up studies have investigated the effectiveness of cue exposure treatment for alcoholics. In this study, inpatient alcoholics received either cu e exposure integrated with urge coping skills training (CET, n = 22) o r a contrast condition (CC) involving daily contact with assessment on ly (n = 18) in addition to standard treatment. Comprehensive assessmen t measures were used to investigate change in process and outcome vari ables. In the second 3 months after treatment, the CET group included more patients who were completely abstinent, had a higher percentage o f abstinent days, and tended to report fewer drinks per day than did p atients in the contrast condition. The significantly greater use of co ping skills during follow-up by the CET group and the significant rela tionship of these coping skills to decreased drinking suggest that tre atment effects were due, at least in part, to the coping skills traini ng, consistent with recent formulations. Theoretical and treatment imp lications are discussed.