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Controlled Drinking and Relapse
Author(s) -
Saunders Bill
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
australian drug and alcohol review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.018
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1465-3362
pISSN - 0819-5331
DOI - 10.1080/09595238780000261
Subject(s) - abstinence , psychological intervention , psychology , relapse prevention , coping (psychology) , reinforcement , psychotherapist , psychiatry , medicine , social psychology
It is contended that whilst relapse and controlled drinking are areas that have attracted much attention in recent years, there has been a relative failur to combine the respective developments in these areas. In this paper issues central to relapse are outlined and the implications for controlled drinking practice considered. Whilst it is acknowledged that similar issues are raised in the management of relapse in controlled drinking programmes as in abstinence oriented interventions, particular attention needs to be given to what constitutes the boundaries of controlled drinking and how to respond if a controlled drinker breaches these limits. In such cases until proper assessment and review have been conducted the tendency to impose an abstinence goal needs to be resisted. The emphasis of each review should be upon the individal's resolve and commitment to the goal of treatment as well as consideration of coping skill deficits. Failure on a controlled drinking programme can on occasions be a useful aid to the eventual attainment of abstinence.