Comparative Evaluation of Motivational Interviewing Components in Alcohol Treatment

AbstractPrevious research has firmly established the efficacy of Motivational Interviewing (MI) in helping individuals to overcome their alcohol addiction. However, there is a large diversity in the sizes of these effects and it is not clear how the different MI strategies and techniques contribute to treatment outcomes. We compared the efficacy of three MI intervention plans using a randomized matched pre-test/post-test design spanning a 10-week period. The participants were 45 French individuals (29 male and 16 female) seeking treatment for alcohol dependence who received 5 sessions of MI. Participants from all groups reported moderate to strong changes (d >  0.80) in alcohol consumption, temptation to drink, abstinence self-efficacy, internal motivation to change behavior, and well-being (anxiety, depression, satisfaction with life, and self-esteem). ANCOVA analyses showed that the changes in alcohol consumption, temptation to drink, and abstinence s elf-efficacy were weakest in the group that only used the internal motivation strategies and strongest in the group using a combination of the internal motivation strategies, decisional balance, and self-efficacy strategies. The findings support the efficacy of a combination of three MI strategies. Future research comparing the effects of different MI intervention plans could help to ensure consistently effective alcohol addiction treatment.
Source: Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research