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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Addictive Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1473988

Integrated Treatment of Depression and moderate to severe Alcohol Use Disorder in Women shows promise in Routine Alcohol Use Disorder Care -A pilot study

Provisionally accepted
Anna Persson Anna Persson 1,2Daniel Wallhed Finn Daniel Wallhed Finn 3Alice Broberg Alice Broberg 3Amanda Westerberg Amanda Westerberg 3Åsa Magnusson Åsa Magnusson 1,2Olof Molander Olof Molander 1*
  • 1 Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet (KI), Stockholm, Sweden
  • 2 Stockholm Center for Dependency Disorders, Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
  • 3 WeMind Psychiatry, Stockholm, Sweden

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Major depression and alcohol use disorder affect millions of individuals worldwide and cause significant disability. They often occur together, and their co-occurrence is associated with more negative outcomes than each disorder on its own. Yet, there is a lack of knowledge on how to best treat co-occurring depression and alcohol use disorder. A pilot study was conducted to investigate the feasibility, credibility, patient satisfaction, preliminary effect, and potential negative effects of an integrated treatment for depression and alcohol use disorder, which has shown promising results in an earlier pilot trial. Methods: The study was conducted at an outpatient unit in Stockholm, Sweden. Women (n=7) with current depression and alcohol use disorder were offered integrated group treatment that included evidence-based treatment for depression and alcohol use disorder. Criteria for feasibility were based on an earlier study, treatment credibility was measured using the Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire and patient satisfaction with the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire. Results: Feasibility, credibility, and patient satisfaction were high. Depression symptom severity and alcohol consumption decreased from baseline to follow up. Negative effects were reported in terms of increased adverse emotional experiences. Discussion: The investigated integrated treatment for co-occurring depression and alcohol use disorder continues to show promise. Randomized clinical trials are needed to evaluate its effectiveness.

    Keywords: major depressive disorder1, alcohol use disorder2, Investigational therapies3, Community Mental Health Services4, Substance Abuse Treatment Centers5

    Received: 31 Jul 2024; Accepted: 17 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Persson, Finn, Broberg, Westerberg, Magnusson and Molander. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Olof Molander, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet (KI), Stockholm, Sweden

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.