A computer-based cognitive behavioral therapy program developed by a Yale Department of Psychiatry faculty member was shown to be effective in treating alcohol use disorders, according to a recent Yale study.
The program, CBT4CBT, was developed by Kathleen M. Carroll, PhD, Albert E. Kent Professor of Psychiatry, and other members of the Yale Psychotherapy Development Center in 2008. The intent of the program was to provide consistent and high-quality delivery of cognitive behavioral therapy skills training to avoid substance use.
A recent Yale study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, demonstrated that CBT4CBT is effective at reducing rates of alcohol use when delivered as an add-on to standard outpatient addiction treatment. The study evaluated a web-based version of CBT4CBT for alcohol use disorders developed by Carroll and Brian D. Kiluk, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry.
Sixty-eight people who were seeking treatment for an alcohol use disorder were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions for eight weeks:
- Standard treatment as usual (TAU)
- Standard treatment plus CBT4CBT
- CBT4CBT with brief clinical monitoring
Those assigned to either of the CBT4CBT conditions remained in treatment longer than those assigned to TAU, according to the results. While there was an overall increase in rates of alcohol abstinence in the full sample during the 8-week treatment, people assigned to TAU and CBT4CBT demonstrated a greater increase in abstinence rates than those assigned to TAU.
The study also showed that the CBT4CBT treatments generated cost savings compared to TAU alone.
Kiluk was the paper’s first author, and Carroll was the senior author. The other authors were Kathleen A. Devore, Matthew B. Buck, Charla Nich, Tami L. Frankforter, Donna M. LaPaglia, Brian T. Yates, and Melissa A. Gordon.