Group-delivered brief intervention versus standard care for mixed alcohol/other drug problems: A preliminary study

This study compared a Motivational Interviewing inspired group intervention with standard care in naturalistic alcohol/other drug abuse samples. A community-recruited alcohol/other drug abuse or dependent sample (N=67) was provided up to four sessions of group-adapted Motivational Interviewing (GAMI). Newly admitted patients (N=64) in two multimodal treatment settings were also recruited. Quasi-experimental comparison of outcomes from GAMI versus real-world standard care (SC) indicated significant within-group improvement on all main outcomes in both groups. SC was associated with significantly more abstinence days, and better family and social outcomes at six-month posttreatment compared to GAMI. Differences in reductions in alcohol or drug-related dysfunction were not detected. Thus, group- elivered MI intervention was associated with significant improvements in alcohol/other drug use outcomes. However, consideration of group-delivered MI as a replacement for more intensive standard care is, for the moment, uncertain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)