Hot topic search results
You have found 42 entries after clicking the GO button or a search link in a hot topic. 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 
STUDY 1962 HTM file
The abstinent alcoholic
Classic description of the patient who has sustained abstinence after treatment but is still unhappy, unfulfilled and/or nervously hanging on – in other words, not really ‘recovered’. They formed the majority of patients seen at Connecticut’s alcohol clinics in the 1950s who were not drinking at follow-up.
REVIEW 2019 HTM file
The efficacy of spiritual/religious interventions for substance use problems: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Around the world, programmes which take a spiritual or overtly religious route to overcoming substance use problems are extremely common and in some countries dominant – but do they work any better than the alternatives? This review systematically sifted the evidence from the past 30 years.
Instead of a set programme, a clinic in London tried offering methadone or buprenorphine patients still using heroin or cocaine a selection from a suite of well-supported psychological interventions tailored to the patient and then systematically re-tailored in the light of how they responded. It worked – but did it work well enough, and would the findings be replicated in more typical circumstances?
STUDY 2012 HTM file
Does active referral by a doctor or 12-step peer improve 12-step meeting attendance? Results from a pilot randomised control trial
In the context of current UK policy, this is a key study, testing the ambition to extend recovery beyond formal treatment by systematically linking patients to mutual aid groups, the main way it is being suggested commissioners can square the circle of doing more (recovery is seen as a whole-life transformation) with less.
MATRIX CELL 2018 HTM file
Drug Treatment Matrix cell A4: Interventions; Psychosocial therapies
Seminal and key studies shedding light on the general principles underpinning psychosocial therapies and the effectiveness specific approaches. ’Individualise,’ is the overarching theme … and the consequent dangers of inflexibly following guidelines and research findings.
HOT TOPIC 2018 HTM file
Can 12-step mutual aid bridge recovery resources deficit?
‘Hot topics’ offer background and analysis on important issues which sometimes generate heated debate. Can mutual aid groups based on AA’s 12 steps help bridge the gap between heightened ambition for recovery from addiction and diminished public resources. That largely depends on whether the worldwide popularity of the steps is matched by evidence of effectiveness.
REVIEW 2011 HTM file
Alcohol-use disorders: diagnosis, assessment and management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence
This impressive assessment of what evaluation research means for alcohol dependence treatment in Britain is distinguished by reviews of the latest literature on the sub-topics it covers; in some cases these starkly reveal the inadequacies of the evidence base.
REVIEW 2012 HTM file
The effectiveness of incarceration-based drug treatment on criminal behavior: A systematic review
Strongest support for ‘therapeutic community’ approach to incarceration-based drug treatment according to robust review of evidence – with consistent reductions found in both drug relapse and recidivism.
REVIEW 2014 HTM file
Estimating the efficacy of Alcoholics Anonymous without self-selection bias: an instrumental variables re-analysis of randomized clinical trials
12-step fellowships offer a way to reconcile shrunken resources with the desire to get more patients safely out of treatment. Accounting for the self-selection bias which has obscured AA’s impacts, this synthesis of US trials finds that attending more meetings after treatment boosts abstinence. Why then is research equivocal on whether promoting attendance improves drink-related outcomes?
STUDY 2015 HTM file
Navigating the alcohol treatment pathway: A qualitative study from the service users’ perspective
Patient interviews provide insight into low levels of engagement and retention in alcohol treatment services, hindering the effective provision of treatment for dependent drinkers. Findings suggest that treatment pathways should better reflect the capacity and capabilities of people with alcohol dependence.
Select search results page
NEXT
1 2 3 4 5