CONTROLLED DRINKING AS A TREATMENT GOAL IN AUSTRALIAN ALCOHOL TREATMENT AGENCIES

Under the broad umbrella of harm minimisation, the Australian National Drug Strategy has emphasised the development of services aimed at red ucing hazardous alcohol consumption in problem drinkers thereby shifti ng rite focus of treatment from abstinence to moderation goals. The ob jective of the present study was to determine the extent to which alco hol treatment agencies offered advice and treat ment aimed at moderati on of alcohol consumption (ie., controlled drinking). Of the 179 agenc ies (40% of identified treatment agencies across Australia) approached , 66% (115) reported giving advice about controlled drinking as a trea tment goal. The reported therapeutic strategies used to assist in the attainment of a controlled drinking goal are empirically supported. Th us, controlled drinking as a treatment goal is widely offered by Austr alian treatment agencies, by workers who appear well versed in validat ed strategies and techniques used to obtain such a goal. This finding is discussed in relation to comparison studies conducted in the UK and the USA. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.