summary 1 - therapy-directed strategy increases AA involvement among outpatients

Summary:

In article named therapy-directed strategy increases AA involvement among outpatients states that a study was held to find out if outpatient therapy revolving around AA is more successful than therapy that is not very focused on AA. This article was in an issue of a Brown University Digest. It was published in June 2009, so it is fairly recent. Each type of approach received a 12-session, manualized skills based treatment package that covered topics such as problem solving, drink refusal, and relaxation skills according to the Brown University Digest of Addiction Theory and Application. (Walitzer 6) The only thing that was altered was the role AA played into the therapy. With the DIR approach, the therapist provided much emphasis on AA- including: the 12 steps, the big book, living sober book, fellowship, obtaining a sponsor, and supporting other members in AA. About 38% of material had an AA focus with the DIR approach. The next approach, MOT, had about a 20% emphasis on AA. The therapist provides his/her own thoughts about AA including: stories, attitudes and thoughts towards AA, and states that it is the clients choice to be involved in AA. The TAU focus was primarily centered around all therapy and no AA. There is about an 8% focus on AA in that group. Things such as: interviews, days sober, aa attendance, and inventories were all factors in the study. During follow-ups with the participants, as expected, the DIR approach to therapy had the greatest outcome. The DIR approach had a total of 80% days sober during the follow-up, where as, TAU participants had 65% days. MOT was in the middle, also as expected, and didn't really have much effect on outcome of therapy.

• Walitzer KS: Facilitating Involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous during outpatient treatment: A randomized clinical trial. Addiction 2009; 104:391-401

--I believe that this summary will give my subculture an extreme amount of credibility. A huge stereotype surrounding AA is that it doesn't work- or even that it is sabotoging to the recovery process. In my first paper, I explained that alcoholism is dominant in caucasians. This study shows that the majority of alcoholics are in fact white, which will give my ideas and thoughts proper evidence.

*Thesis: Alcohol addiction therapy that is AA-oriented allows for more successful recoveries in outpatients.