Online Relapse Prevention Therapy for Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder

Participants in the e-RPT group will receive 10 weekly predesigned online modules. The content of this program will involve interactive therapy modules based on the principles of. On average each module consists of 30 slides and should take approximately 45 minutes to complete. At the end of each module, participants will be assigned homework to be completed and submitted to their respective therapists up to 48 hours before their next weekly session. The therapists will develop personalized feedback by using session-specific therapy feedback templates. These templates ensure that feedback is also more standardized and structured between different patients and therapists. In previous studies, therapists have been able to effectively use these templates to prepare feedback in approximately 15-20 minutes. The contents of each session are outlined on the detailed description section.

Participants in the face-to-face intervention will meet with their therapist weekly through Microsoft Teams (video conference). During these 1-hour sessions, therapists will follow the same 10-week structure and content as e-RPT. Though compared to e-RPT, in face-to-face sessions, the homework will be reviewed with the participant, during the session, providing the appropriate feedback. Then the therapists will prepare a weekly patient report of each session for the principal investigator. At the end of each session, participants will receive the same homework as the e-RPT condition which they will receive feedback on during the following face-to-face session. Following the 10-week face-to-face intervention, participants will have the opportunity to join the e-RPT program.