Psychotherapy and addiction: a survey of journals

A content analysis was done on 1,239 articles published from 1984 to 1987 in seven leading alcohol and addiction journals to ascertain the frequency of articles on psychotherapeutic treatment published relative to other treatments for alcohol and drug dependence. Therapeutic intervention articles account for less than 10% and psychotherapy treatment articles for less than 3% of the articles analyzed. Postulations such as the effects of a prevailing acceptance of the disease model to level of practitioner sophistication are made about this relatively small number. Nontherapeutic treatment articles are classified according to research methodology. Suggestions for research are made.