ABSTRACT
Alcohol and drug related problems place a large burden on American society. The yearly cost due to alcohol abuse alone, including increases in health care, accidents and crime, and reductions in productivity, is projected to be $150 billion by 1995 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1986). The toll in pain and suffering cannot be rendered in dollar amounts, but is also very large (Marlatt & Gordon, 1985; Yoder, 1990). While approaches to treatment of alcoholism abound, their effectiveness is far from the level that would be desirable, with the result that relapse to alcoholism is recognized as one of the most intractable problems in the alcoholism field (Hunt, Barnett & Branch, 1971; Marlatt & Gordon, 1985). To address this problem, more research, and in particular more long-term follow-up research, is needed to facilitate identification of the most useful rehabilitation therapies.
