Other Treatments for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)

by Cynthia M. Johnson, MA

En Español (Spanish Version)

The best way to treat AUD is with a combination of approaches. Counseling will need to play a role. Options are:

Brief Interventions

A person with AUD will have short meetings with a healthcare provider to talk about:

The harms of alcohol use
Ways to reduce risky drinking
How to change drinking patterns
Making plans to monitor progress

Counseling

Counseling can help to identify thoughts that lead to AUD and ways to better cope with problems. It may be:

Individual therapy to learn how to stop using alcohol and better ways to manage problems that lead to drinking
Group therapy from organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) to get support from others who are recovering from AUD
Couples and family therapy to discuss how the people in a person's life can play a role in recovery

REFERENCES:

Alcohol use disorder. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: https://www.dynamed.com/condition/alcohol-use-disorder. Accessed September 3, 2020.

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: https://www.dynamed.com/condition/alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome. Accessed September 3, 2020.

Day E, Copello A, Hull M. Assessment and management of alcohol use disorders. BMJ. 2015 Feb 19;350:h715.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). American Psychiatric Association; 2013.

Last reviewed March 2020 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Adrian Preda, MD
Last Updated: 2/19/2021

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