This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Management of problem drinking

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

A third of problem drinkers return to normal drinking without a doctor's intervention.

A brief intervention model has been shown to be effective in reducing alcohol intake by 20% in problem drinkers. The components of this approach include:

  • assessing alcohol intake
  • explanation of the effects of alcohol
  • advice on reducing intake
  • follow-up consultations

Groups therapy, alcoholics anonymous and longterm counselling may be helpful but have never been subject to trials.

For some problem drinkers it may be best to advise abstinence. In patients where alcohol is not causing personal or social problems then aiming for controlled intake may be acceptable.

Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page