Is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Alcohol Dependence Treatment more effective if tailored for individual patient needs?

Psychological Intervention: A 45 minute assessment with standardised psychometric tools measuring alcohol expectancy (Drinking Expectancy Profile), drinking refusal self-efficacy (Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire), craving (Alcohol Craving Questionnaire, Obsessive-Compulsive Drinking Scale), impulsivity (Dickman Impulsivity Inventory), dependence (Severity of Alcohol Dependence Scale, Brief MAST, Alcohol Use Identification Test) and general mental health functioning (General health Questioniare-28, Beck Depression Inventory-II, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Toronto Alexithymia Scale) will be used to profile psychological risk of each patient. Risk is determined by previous published studies and historical data from the trial site. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) treatment manuals that target these key deficits/excesses will be developed. These manuals will be administered by clinical psychologists (x4 one hour weekly sessions first 4 weeks, x4 fortnightly 1 hour sessions next 8 weeks= 12 week program, with 8 x 1 hour sessions). Treatment attendance will be recorded and patients will be breathalyzed prior to each treatments session. Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) testing is available to validate self-report, if indicated. DNA will also be donated from consenting patients, but will not form part of the current intervention. These de-identified data will be used to construct genetic risk models in subsequent trials