Characteristics of seekers of couple therapy for alcohol use or gambling disorder
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Date
2023
Authors
Lee, Bonnie K.
Shi, Yanjun
Ofori-dei, Samuel M.
Miftari, Naser
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wolters Kluwer Health
Abstract
Objective: This study examined characteristics of individuals
with alcohol use disorder (AUD) or gambling
disorder (GD) who were seeking couple therapy based
on screening data from a randomized controlled trial on
Congruence Couple Therapy at 2 out-patient addiction
service sites in Alberta.
Method: Screening data of couple therapy seekers
(N= 171) were analyzed.
Results: Seekers cited various motivations for seeking
couple therapy including addiction-related relationship
breaches and issues, the desire to recover from addiction
together, concerns for the well-being of their children, and
the lack of available couple therapy in addiction services
until this trial. Significantly more females than males were
first to indicate interest, and 77% of the sample had
attended other treatment and mutual help programs in
the past 12 months. The majority of the treatment seekers
met DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for AUD and/or GD scoring
in the moderate-severe range with nearly half of the
seekers reporting a mental health diagnosis at least once
in their lifetime. In addition, 30% of treatment-seekers
reported past-year suicidal thoughts, citing their own addiction and their partners’ addiction as reasons and 57%
of those individuals reported having a method/plan to
carry out their suicide. Suicidal attempts in the past year
was 8% based on the entire sample. Finally, 19% of
treatment seekers reported experiencing intimate partner
violence within the past 12 months.
Conclusion: Addiction and couple relationship problems
are closely connected. Despite the serious multiple
concurrent concerns of seekers identified in this study,
there is a general lack of couple therapy availability in
addiction services. This study highlights the importance
for addiction and mental health professionals to note the
complex interaction of couple distress and addiction,
understand couple therapy as a treatment modality, and
make timely referrals for this vulnerable group.
Description
Open access article. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-ND DEED) applies
Keywords
Couple therapy , Addiction treatment , Concerned significant others , Alcohol use disorder , Gambling disorder , Comorbidities , Intimate partner violence
Citation
Lee, B. K., Shi, Y., Ofori-dei, S. M., & Miftari, N. (2023). Characteristics of seekers of couple therapy for alcohol use or gambling disorder. Canadian Journal of Addiction, 14(2), 32-39. DOI: 10.1097/CXA.0000000000000174