Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze to efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral treatment program, in individual and group format, for people with alcohol problems, and to determine the role of some personality variables in the process of therapeutic recovery. The sample was made up of 80 patients diagnosed as alcoholics, 83.8% of whom were men (n=67) and 16.3% were women (n=13). Mean age was 42.73 years, with a standard deviation of 9.63 years. Basically, we found a high incidence of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and consumption patterns that change as a function of the presence or absence of personality disorders. We also observed that the results varied in relation to physiological variables and environmental situations associated with the presence of craving responses. Treatment of such patients with dual pathology demands greater effort from the therapist to promote treatment adherence, an aspect crucial to completion of treatment programs and to achieve therapeutic success. Cognitive-behavioral intervention for relapse prevention was observed to produce satisfactory results in patients with personality disorders. Neither consumption patterns nor personality disorders predict the type of treatment termination.