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Abstract
Background: The availability of online treatment programs offers the potential to reach more problem drinkers. This study compared the client populations of an e-therapy program (asynchronous client–therapist communication via the Internet) and a face-to-face treatment program. Objective: To determine whether e-therapy and face-to-face groups differed from each other and changed over time. Methods: We compared the baseline characteristics of four naturalistic groups (N = 4593): two e-therapy groups (2005–2006 and 2008–2009) and two consecutive series of ambulant face-to-face clients admitted for treatment as usual. The characteristics we were interested in were gender, age, education level, working situation, and earlier treatment for drinking problems. Results: The results showed that the baseline characteristics of e-therapy and face-to-face clients differed by gender, education level, work situation, prior alcohol treatment, and age. We also found that both e-therapy groups differed over time by gender, work situation, and prior alcohol treatment. Conclusions: The e-therapy program successfully attracted clients who were different from those who were represented in regular face-to-face alcohol treatment services. This indicates that e-therapy decreases the barriers to treatment facilities and enhances the accessibility. However, the e-therapy population changed over time. Although the e-therapy program still reached an important new group of clients in 2008–2009, this group showed more overlap with the traditional face-to-face group of clients probably as a result of improved acceptance of e-therapy in the general population. Scientific Significance: Although e-therapy seems to be better accepted in the general population, anonymous treatment seems necessary to reach a broader range of problem drinkers.