ABSTRACT
The issue of whether treatment is the most appropriate way of dealing with problem drinkers is as controversial now as it was a hundred years ago, not least among problem drinkers themselves. The notion of treatment effectiveness should be broadened such that it focuses less strongly on drinking itself and more on the adjustment of the client. The extent of abstinence and moderate drinking as outcome measures is likely to give richer and more representative descriptions of post-treatment behaviour. Although the controlled trial is a powerful way of providing such comparisons, it is often difficult to implement and other methods are available. The controlled treatment trial is probably the most frequently used way of trying to overcome the types of problem inherent in the evaluation methods.
