Psychological interventions with families of alcohol misusers: A systematic review

Abstract

Aims: To review the literature on psychological interventions for families affected by alcohol misuse, with a focus on outcomes for family members.

Methods: A comprehensive and systematic literature review. A detailed search strategy was developed and implemented with no date, language or time restrictions. Two reviewers screened all identified titles and abstracts, and then independently assessed the eligibility and quality of all potential studies. The studies were analysed according to whether or not the alcohol misuser was involved in the primary intervention under investigation and analysed thematically.

Results: Forty-three publications (34 studies) were included in the review. All were in English, covered the period 1979–2009, were mainly published articles in peer review journals and included 2500–3000 family members. Research with female family members (particularly spouses or partners), and ‘white’ family members dominated. The included studies show how the field has moved from primarily focussing on how family members can engage and support the user through treatment to adopting a wider holistic focus which considers the needs of family members in their own right. Studies in both categories demonstrated positive outcomes for family members across a range of domains.

Conclusions: Adopting a broader review methodology has brought a fuller understanding of a field where few such reviews have been conducted, and offers direction for future research. Further work is needed in terms of broadening the reach of such interventions and embedding them more firmly into routine therapeutic practice.

• Families
• systematic review
• psychological interventions
• alcohol misuse

Notes

1. In the Halford et al. (2001) study, whilst one of the treatments under study was alcohol-focussed couples therapy, the study (and the other two treatments) was very much focussed on the female family member and so it has been grouped here (in the cases where the woman's drinking spouse declined to participate in couples therapy the woman received one of the individual treatments).

2. Data related to alcohol consumption are presented in many studies but are not reported here as the focus is on the family members.