The following is a copy of a table from Chapter 2, "What works? A summary of alcohol treatment research" in R. K. Hester & W.R. Miller (Eds.), Handbook of alcoholism treatment approaches: Effective alternatives (3rd ed.), 2003, Allyn & Bacon.

For information on what each column means, scroll to the bottom of the page.

Treatment Modality
Rank order
Cumulative Evidence Score
Number of studies
%+
Mean Methodological Quotient Score
Mean Severity of Treatment Population
% Excellent
Brief interventions
1
390
34
74
13.29
2.47
53
Motivational enhancement
2
189
18
72
12.83
2.72
50
GABA agonist (Acamprosate)
3
116
5
100
11.60
3.80
20
Community Reinforcement
4.5
110
7
86
14.00
3.43
71
Self-change manual (Bibliotherapy)
4.5
110
17
59
12.65
2.59
53
Opiate antagonist (Naltrexone)
6
100
6
83
11.33
3.17
0
Behavioral self-control training
7
85
31
52
12.77
2.91
52
Behavior contracting
8
64
5
80
10.40
3.60
0
Social skills training
9
57
20
55
10.9
3.80
25
Marital therapy-Behavioral
10
44
9
56
12.33
3.44
44
Aversion therapy-Nausea
11
36
6
50
10.50
3.83
17
Case managment
12
33
5
80
10.50
3.75
0
Cognitive Therapy
13
21
10
40
10.00
3.70
10
Aversion Therapy, Covert Sensitization
14.5
18
8
38
10.88
3.50
0
Aversion therapy, Apneic
14.5
18
3
67
9.67
3.33
0
Family therapy
16
15
4
50
9.25
3.25
0
Acupuncture
17
14
3
67
9.67
3.67
0
Client-centered Counsling
18
5
8
50
11.13
3.38
13
Aversion therapy, Electrical
19
-1
18
44
11.06
3.78
17
Exercise
20
-3
3
33
11.00
2.00
0
Stress Management
21
-4
3
33
10.33
2.67
0
Antidipsotropic- Disulfiram
22
-6
27
44
11.07
3.69
26
Antidepressant-SSRI
23
-16
15
53
8.60
2.67
0
Problem Solving
24
-26
4
25
12.25
3.75
50
Lithium
25
-32
7
43
11.43
3.71
29
Marital therapy- Nonbehavioral
26
-33
8
38
12.25
3.63
25
Group process psychotherapy
27
-34
3
0
8.00
2.67
0
Functional analysis
28
-36
3
0
12.00
2.67
33
Relapse prevention
29
-38
22
36
11.73
3.23
31
Self-monitoring
30
-39
6
33
12.00
3.17
50
Hypnosis
31
-41
4
0
10.25
3.75
0
Psychedelic medication
32
-44
8
25
10.13
3.63
0
Antidipsotropic-calcium carbimide
33
-52
3
0
10.00
4.00
0
Attention Placebo
34
-59
3
0
12.33
3.33
33
Serotonin agonist

 

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