Interpersonal group psychotherapy for comorbid alcohol dependence and non-psychotic psychiatric disorders

Alcohol-dependent patients (N = 15) with comorbid non-psychotic psychiatric disorders were treated with Modified Interpersonal Group Therapy (MIGT) for eight weeks, 16 sessions, in a pilot intervention trial. Analysis of the group participants demonstrated that they achieved statistically significant improvements at post-treatment in four of five self-report outcome measures: number of drinking days, number of heavy drinking days, the Brief Symptom Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Furthermore, the improvements in heavy drinking days and the Brief Symptom Inventory were maintained at two and eight months post-treatment. This study yields preliminary evidence in support of MIGT as a useful treatment approach for an alcohol-dependent population with psychiatric comorbidity.