THE PAST AND FUTURE OF RESEARCH ON TREATMENT OF ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE

Mark L. Willenbring, M.D. Director of The NIAAA

“In addition to addressing these scientific challenges, there is a pressing need to create a new systemsystem: — an organization of a number of different treatment programs and related services in order to implement a specific mission and common goals. of providing risk reduction and treatment for heavy drinkers and people with alcohol dependence. The current treatment system model, the Minnesota Model, was developed by professionals at a State hospital in Minnesota and promulgated most famously by the Johnson Institute and the Hazelden Foundation. Based on what was known at the time (primarily through the folk wisdom of Alcoholics Anonymous [AA]), the Minnesota Model combined the first five steps of AA with lectures on the disease concept of alcoholism and some practical supportive psychotherapy. Central to its concept was the use of staff members who themselves were in recovery from alcohol dependence, along with others (Anderson et al. 1999).

Alcohol dependence is a DSM-IV diagnosis of a maladaptive pattern of substance use as shown by three of the following criteria, noted in a 12-month period:

- Tolerance

- Withdrawal or use of alcohol to avoid withdrawal