Matrix search results

Effectiveness bank home page. Opens new window Matrix search results

You have found 363 entries after clicking on a search link (usually the MORE information link) in a matrix cell. Starting with the most recently added or updated entries, the list shows in orange the type of entry, year the original document was published (or if one of our own documents, the year last updated), and the type of file you will download when you click on the title. In blue is the document’s title followed by a brief description.

Click blue titles to view full text in a new window
Use the selectors at the bottom to turn to the next page in the list of documents
Re-order the list by the main topic addressed or by the most recently published documents


If you have not found what you want you could:
Select from the full range of topics and search options available on our topic search page.
Instead try a free text search for documents which contain the words you specify.
Or try browsing back issues of the magazine or the more recent email bulletins.
Try the information services provided by partner agencies.
Tried everything? E-mail the Findings editor for help by clicking on this logo Drug and Alcohol Findings logo



STUDY 1977 HTM file
Effect of counselor expectations on alcoholic recovery

Could negativity about the recovery chances of disadvantaged drinkers become self-fulfilling prophecies? This hidden gem study from the late ’70s suggests they can, and that bolstering counsellors’ expectations promotes commitment to treatment and recovery among the least promising of clients.

REVIEW 2020 HTM file
Controlled drinking – non-abstinent versus abstinent treatment goals in alcohol use disorder: a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression

Comprehensive review and amalgamation of findings from studies enabling a comparison of controlled drinking versus abstinence as treatment goals concludes that even among diagnosably dependent drinkers, neither has the advantage in promoting low-risk (non-)drinking.

HOT TOPIC 2021 HTM file
‘Dangerous data’: drinking after dependence

First cracked in 1960s London, the orthodoxy that abstinence is the only feasible treatment goal for ‘alcoholics’ seemed shattered in 1973 by evidence that even physically dependent patients could learn to drink in moderation. Controversy was fierce, reaching the US Congress, TV networks and the courts. Explore the history and contested research behind an issue facing every dependent drinker starting treatment.

MATRIX CELL 2020 HTM file
Alcohol Treatment Matrix cell C2: Management/supervision; Generic and cross-cutting issues

Key studies on management and supervision across psychosocial and medical treatments of problem drinking. Highlights that “Manners Matter”, focuses on staff recruitment, queries the ubiquitous stages of change model, and details the fascinating history of the most controversial issue in alcohol treatment: whether to insist dependent drinkers try for abstinence. See the rest of row 2 of the matrix for more on features common to psychosocial and medical treatments.

MATRIX CELL 2020 HTM file
Alcohol Treatment Matrix cell E4: Treatment systems; Psychosocial therapies

Key studies on systems for effectively and cost-effectively providing psychosocial therapies, and the roles of those therapies within the overall treatment system. Focus is on examining the research credentials of guidance from NICE and mutual aid’s potential to bridge the gap between diminished resources and heightened recovery ambitions.

MATRIX CELL 2020 HTM file
Alcohol Treatment Matrix cell D4: Organisational functioning; Psychosocial therapies

Key studies on how treatment organisations affect implementation and effectiveness of psychosocial therapies. Explores the effects of high staff turnover, how to reduce it, and the importance of services being ready for change, and asks whether change driven by money rather than humanitarian mission is just as good for patients.

MATRIX CELL 2020 HTM file
Alcohol Treatment Matrix cell C4: Management/supervision; Psychosocial therapies

Seminal and key studies on management and supervision in psychosocial therapies. Focus is on evidence of the need for post-training ‘coaching’ and for letting therapists know how their clients are doing – especially when they are doing badly.

MATRIX CELL 2020 HTM file
Alcohol Treatment Matrix cell B4: Practitioners; Psychosocial therapies

Key studies on the impact of the practitioner in psychosocial therapies for alcohol dependence. Structured around Carl Rogers’ classic account of the prerequisites of effective psychotherapy.

MATRIX CELL 2020 HTM file
Alcohol Treatment Matrix cell A4: Interventions; Psychosocial therapies

Key studies on the ‘common factors’ underlying psychosocial therapies for problem drinking and the effectiveness of specific approaches. Explores the famous ‘Dodo bird’ hypothesis that all bona fide therapies are equivalent, examines the legacy of the UK’s most ambitious treatment trial, asks whether therapy can really make things worse, and questions how research amalgamating impacts from many patients can be applied to the treatment of an individual in their individual circumstances.

HOT TOPIC 2020 HTM file
The complexity and challenge of ‘dual diagnosis’

One of our hot topics offering background and analysis on important issues which sometimes generate heated debate. Whether to focus on mental health problems or substance use problem when the patient exhibits both is long-standing conundrum which still puzzles today’s treatment services. Arising with as many as three-quarters of the drug treatment caseload, deciding how to respond is a is a major issue.


Select search results page

NEXT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37