Using Online Training Programs to Treat Alcohol Addiction

This project builds on pilot data collected in 2023, in which we provided an online course to treat patients with alcohol addiction and binge drinking. In this pilot data, 5 participants have completed the Online Impulsivity Training program, which is developed by Dr. Yuliya Richard at Blue Horizon Counselling (https://impulsivity.com.au). Other aims of the project are: (a) to identify the factors associated with excessive alcohol consumption, and (b) to assess the effect of training on impulsivity, depression, anxiety, mindfulness, stress, and alcohol craving and consumption patterns. The project will recruit individuals from Australia via Blue Horizon Counselling, Bond University, and online platforms (e.g., Facebook). Our pilot data shows that the Online Impulsivity Training Program has decreased alcohol use and cravings, reduced impulsivity, and increased mindfulness. We aim to continue data collection on this project in order to have a sufficient sample for publications as well as grant submission by the end of 2024.

Our team (Moustafa, Garg, and Richard) have been collaborating on this and other projects since 2018, leading to several publications, which are listed below. Our prior publications have shed light on cognitive problems in drug addiction. The current project builds on these studies.

This project provides a multi-faceted online treatment program for individuals with alcohol addiction and binge drinking. We will use the Online Training Program and the key feature of this program is treating impulsivity, which is a core feature of alcohol misuse and is often not addressed in previous studies (Richard & Moustafa, 2019; Richard & Moustafa, 2023). Impulsivity has been defined as a “predisposition towards rapid, unplanned reactions to internal and external stimuli without regard to the negative consequences of these reactions to the impulsive individual or to others” (Moeller et al., 2001, p. 1784). Other focuses of the online program are cognitive distortions, mood, stress levels, and mindfulness, as these factors have been shown to be associated with substance abuse in studies conducted by our lab (Garami et al., 2019; Hamza et al., 2023; Moustafa, 2019; Moustafa et al., 2018) and as well as by other researchers (Mobini et al., 2006; Parry & Lindsay, 2003).