Enhancing Internet-delivered Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Alcohol Misuse

Summary

Alcohol misuse is a common and disabling problem and refers to alcohol consumption that causes harm to the drinker, others, and/or greater society.

Internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy (ICBT) shows considerable promise as a convenient treatment for alcohol misuse. The overall goal of ICBT for alcohol misuse is typically behavioural change, measured in terms of reduction of drinks consumed, as opposed to abstinence. These interventions can be delivered in a therapist-guided format or self-guided format.

In past research on ICBT for alcohol misuse, stakeholders (e.g., patients, providers, and academics) highlighted the importance of ensuring that ICBT meets the needs of diverse residents of Saskatchewan, and that ICBT takes into account factors such as psychological comorbidity. Therefore, the goals of the current trial are to: 1) incorporate additional patient narratives to assist clients in learning how diverse individuals apply skills to their lives; and 2) provide additional optional resources to address potential co-morbid concerns. The study aims to examine how these materials are evaluated by clients. Furthermore, we will also examine the overall engagement and outcomes of the enhanced ICBT course for alcohol misuse benchmarked with past findings.

Conditions

• Alcohol Misuse

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Self-Guided

Clients who select or are assigned the self-guided condition will be able to contact the Online Therapy Unit regarding any technical issues through the secure treatment platform; monitoring staff will respond by secure message to messages received however, no psychological intervention will be provided by monitoring staff as part of the ACCE treatment intervention. If there is a significant clinical issue requiring attention (e.g., a sudden increase in symptoms) monitoring staff will make a telephone call and crisis support will be provided if necessary.

BEHAVIORAL

Therapist-Guided

Therapists will spend \~15 minutes/week communicating with each client who selects the therapist-guided condition, primarily using secure messages. Phone calls will only be made if there is a significant clinical issue requiring attention that the therapist does not feel can be addressed in a message (e.g., a question about the materials that cannot be easily addressed in a text format, a sudden increase in symptoms, increased suicide risk).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation

  collaborator OTHER

• Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Regina

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Heather Hadjistavropoulos, PhD · University of Regina

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-09-16

Primary Completion

2024-07-03

Completion

2025-07-03

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations