Unilateral interventions for women living with heavy drinkers

Despite the fact that unilateral therapy is often the only treatment option for women living with heavy drinkers, very few structured programs have been developed for this client group. Moreover, the programs that do exist lack empirical support (as in the case of Al-Anon) or have as their highest priority promoting change in the drinker. This article looks at unilateral therapy for women partners of heavy drinkers and concludes that although a number of promising developments have occurred in recent years, more research is needed on the benefits to the women themselves.