Citation

Peele S. Addict. Behav. 1992; 17(1): 49-62; discussion 63-93.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

1595425

Abstract

Controlled drinking has long been rejected as a therapeutic goal in traditional American alcoholism treatment. More striking has been the adoption of this position by behaviorists who once fostered controlled-drinking (CD) therapy, such as Peter Nathan, former director of the Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies. This shift has occurred even while the evidence for rejecting the value of moderation training is unclear. Rather than being justified empirically, this rejection must instead be understood as a strategy behaviorists have used to jettison a politically explosive element in the behavioral package in order to gain overall acceptance for the behavioral approach to treating alcoholism. However, this strategy entails significant scientific, clinical, social, and ethical costs.

Language: en