A brief intervention for at-risk drinking in an employee assistance program.

OBJECTIVE

The current pilot study examined the preliminary efficacy of a brief intervention (BI) for at-risk drinking in an employee assistance program.

METHOD

Clients (N = 107) entering the employee assistance program (EAP) for mental health services were screened and met criteria for at-risk drinking. EAP therapists were randomly assigned to deliver either the BI plus EAP services as usual (SAU) or SAU only. Participants in the final analyses consisted of 44 BI + SAU (30 women, 14 men) and 30 SAU (21 women, 9 men) EAP clients who completed a 3-month follow-up.

RESULTS

Results suggested that participants in the BI + SAU group had significant reductions in peak blood alcohol concentration, peak quantity, and alcohol-related consequences compared with the SAU group. Men in the BI + SAU group had greater reductions in alcohol-related problems compared with men in the SAU group. Groups did not differ by number of total EAP sessions attended or rates of presenting problem resolution.

CONCLUSIONS

Results provide preliminary evidence to support the integration of alcohol screening and BI as a low-cost method of intervening with clients with at-risk drinking in the context of co-occurring presenting problems.