People with alcohol problems are at risk of being misdiagnosed according to new research by Lookatyourdrinking.com, part of Tactus, the leading international addiction treatment provider. Before going through the online therapy programme, over a third (38%) of 1060 patients had previously received help for other conditions, but did not have their problem drinking (which existed at the same time) picked up or treated.
Although these patients had never previously sought treatment for their drinking problem, they had got help for conditions such as depression, relationship problems, overwork and burn out, anxiety problems, general psychiatric problems and grief, as well as a range of other reasons. However, despite these problems being recognisable symptoms associated with problem drinking, their drinking habits were not diagnosed.
Typically, patients are referred to alcohol therapy if their alcohol consumption is deemed to be a problem. The fact that this did not happen indicates that their therapist or psychologist did not recognise their behaviour as being part of a drinking problem and treated them for another psychological disorder without getting to the root of the problem.
According to Dr David Bremner, consultant psychiatrist and Medical Director at Lookatyourdrinking.com: “In order to make any definitive conclusions further research is needed. However, early indications suggest that people could be being misdiagnosed and are not receiving the treatment they really need. They could need help for problem drinking rather than other conditions which can manifest as a result of excessive alcohol consumption. It is vital that therapists and psychologists are looking out for this when seeing patients. It is also possible that some patients deliberately hide their drinking problem from their therapist. This is where online therapy can be invaluable, as it can be undertaken anonymously and therefore overcomes any issues of stigma or shame.”
Use of online therapy is growing as it is an effective intervention for problem drinking that can be delivered to a large population who would otherwise not seek help. With Lookatyourdrinking.com, therapists work with clients to find individual solutions, whether it is cutting down alcohol consumption or quitting altogether. The programme is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy which has proven to be very effective in face-to-face treatment. This approach distinguishes Lookatyourdrinking.com from other Internet interventions by forming an ongoing personal relationship between the therapist and client.
Notes to Editors:
Lookatyourdrinking.com is a trading style of Tactus International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tactus, one of the Netherlands largest addiction treatment providers, which also operates in the UK and Germany. Tactus is a pioneer in evidence based online addiction treatment, and has been involved in addiction treatment for over 100 years. Tactus International began trading in the UK in December 2009. Tactus treats 2,500 patients a year for alcohol addiction, eating disorders, gambling addiction, cannabis addiction and benzodiazepine addiction.
Since October 2008 1060 people commenced treatment through Tactus and never previously received help with their alcohol problems. Of these, 38% had sought psychological help for other reasons while their alcohol problem was present. 46% had never received psychological help before starting their online therapy treatment, and 16% had received some psychological help, but at a time before they were aware of alcohol being a problem. On top of these figures, Tactus has treated people who have previously sought help for the alcohol problems.
