Alcoholism is a major social problem. In the United States, the total economic costs to society from alcohol abuse have been estimated at $148 billion (Simon, Patel,&Sleed, 2005). According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA, 2000a), over 700,000 Americans receive treatment for alcoholism on any given day. Treatment options have historically consisted of two relatively distinct alternatives: mutual aid groups (for example, Alcoholics Anonymous [AA]) and professional treatment (for example, mental health centers) (Magura, 2007). Among professional treatments, one of the more effective approaches used to treat alcoholism is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) (Longabaugh et al., 2005). Despite the effectiveness of CBT with some clients, this and other treatment modalities are ineffective with many others wrestling with alcohol dependency (Corte, 2007). Furthermore, among those who successfully complete treatment, relapse is often a problem (Corte, 2007; Piderman, Schneekloth, Pankratz, Maloney,&Altchuler, 2007). In short, research on treatment effectiveness is still in its infancy, and additional work is needed to enhance outcomes.
