Effect of Psychoeducation on Motivation to Change in Traumatized Alcoholics

NCT01323738 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: UKonstanzMOdenwald2009-1
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 50
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Many people suffering from alcohol dependence have a history of exposure to stressful life situations, such as childhood physical or emotional misuse. Often, there's a functional relationship between drinking and emotional problems related to past traumatic experiences, i.e. drinking to forget. However, alcohol treatment often does not include interventions to support patients to cope better with past life experiences. On the other hand, most alcoholics are poorly motivated to participate in long-term rehabilitative treatments after detoxification. In the proposed study, the investigators will study the effects of a brief psycho-educational group intervention during detoxification treatment on motivation to change and the willingness to accept further treatment. The investigators will use a group comparison design (intervention versus "TAS" control group). In month 1, patients take part in Treatment as Usual (TAS), including a unspecific information group. In month 2, the information group is replaced by the psychoeducational group (intervention). Ward staff selects patients for the groups, irrespective of intervention or TAS. Selection criteria are: absence of severe withdrawal and cognitive impairment. Absence of severe co-morbid psychiatric disorder (e.g. schizophrenia or suicidal crisis). The group sessions will take place in groups of up to 15 patients and will include 4 structured sessions (45 min each). Main content if the intervention group is to highlight and discuss the association between stress, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and drinking. Patients will also be informed about the different treatment options available in the region. At entry, patients are asked to fill in the German versions of the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA; McConnaughy, Prochaska, \& Velicer, 1983; German: Heidenreich, Hoyer \& Fecht; 2001) and the Trauma History Questionnaire (THQ; Green, 1996; German: Maercker, 2002). At discharge, patients are asked to fill in the URICA. The investigators expect that specific information on the association between stress and drinking will increase the patients' motivation to participate in further treatment.

Conditions

Alcoholic Intoxication, Chronic

Keywords

Psychoeducation; Group Control

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA)

  Pre-assessment is at entry in in-patient alcohol detoxification treatment, post-assessment is at day of discharge. On average, the two measurements are 15 days apart.

  Pre and Post (day 1, day 15 (average))

• Detoxification treatment completion

  It was evaluated how many subjects in both treatment arms and among traumatized and non-traumatized in each arm ended the detoxification treatment prematurely, i.e. discharge against medical advice or disciplinary discharge.

  15 days (average treatment duration)

• number of days in detoxification treatment

  The number of days in detoxification treatment is a simple count of days of treatment between day of detoxification treatment entry and day of discharge

  15 days (average treatment duration)

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• adverse events

  between admission and discharge

Study Arms (2)

Treatment as Ususal

NO INTERVENTION

Patients participate in the Treatment as Usual including a non-specific information group.

Psychoeducation

EXPERIMENTAL

Intervention group

Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Interventions

Psychoeducation BEHAVIORAL

Psychoeducation group on stress and how it relates to alcohol use, 4 sessions a 45 minutes

Also known as: The manualized group intervention we developed for this study recently was named TARGET,, which reads as "Trauma- and Alcohol-Related Group Education and motivation Therapy"

Psychoeducation

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 70 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Alcohol Dependence
• Regular admission to detoxification unit

You may not qualify if:

• Severe withdrawal
• Severe cognitive impairment
• Severe comorbid psychiatric conditions (schizophrenia, suicidal crisis)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Konstanz: lead

Study Sites (1)

Center for Psychiatry Reichenau

Reichenau, 78479, Germany

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alcoholism

Interventions

Ethanol

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Alcohol-Related Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Alcohols; Organic Chemicals

Study Officials

• Michael Odenwald, PhD

  University of Konstanz

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: FACTORIAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 22, 2009
• First Posted: March 28, 2011
• Study Start: January 1, 2010
• Primary Completion: March 1, 2010
• Study Completion: March 1, 2010
• Last Updated: March 31, 2011

Record last verified: 2011-03

Locations

DE (1)