Combination of two behavioral techniques reduces craving in problematic alcohol consumption by one third: a randomized controlled trial

INTRODUCTION: Craving alcohol is a core symptom of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and an important target for treatment. A new line of treatment for AUD aims at overriding the urge to consume alcohol by changing implicit cognitions via approach bias modification (ApBM). In a prior study, we tested a variant of ApBM called imaginal retraining, which reduced craving. As addiction and body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) share important symptoms (e.g., inability to resist urges), for the present study we merged imaginal retraining with a technique aimed at BFRB, called decoupling, to augment treatment effects. We hypothesized that the new technique, which is called 3P, would lead to a greater reduction in craving relative to (active) control conditions.

METHODS: The study was conducted online. Data from 227 participants were considered. Participants were randomized to 1 out of 5 conditions. Craving for alcohol before and after the brief intervention was the primary outcome.

RESULTS: Only the 3P condition lessened craving by approximately one third at an almost medium effect size (improvement: 34.5%, p = 0.003, d = 0.458). Effects were significantly larger relative to the wait-list control and two active control conditions (p's < 0.02; greater reduction than imaginal retraining at a small but nonsignificant effect size).

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: If replicated, the combination of imaginal retraining and decoupling (3P) represents a promising, easy-to-implement self-help technique to reduce immediate craving. Long-term effects in participants with formally diagnosed AUD have not yet been investigated.