Despite the high prevalence, mortality, and economic costs of AUD, in 2015, only 8.3% of the 15.8 million adults who reported needing treatment for an alcohol problem received specialty alcohol treatment.37 Common sources of help for people with an AUD are 12-step groups (e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous) and outpatient treatment by medical or non-medical healthcare practitioners. Alcohol-specific psychosocial treatment has strong positive effects on drinking outcomes. In a study of 482 alcohol-dependent adults in which treatment was primarily psychosocial,38 the 30-day abstinence rates one year after the initial assessment were 57% for a treatment sample (N=371) and 12% for a comparison group (N=111) identified from the general population [OR=14.67 (95% CI=6.45–33.38)]. The proportion of individuals that reported no binge drinking, psychosocial problems, or alcohol dependence symptoms were 40% in the treated group and 23% in the untreated group [OR=7.30 (95% CI=3.49–15.30)].38
