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Clinical Assessment of Alcohol Use Disorders

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Textbook of Addiction Treatment

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Abstract

Alcohol use disorder assessment needs different strategies depending on whether screening/early use or severity and depth of the condition is yielded. The former implies the simpler and agile instruments while the latter complex and sophisticated instruments that usually require specific training. An efficacious clinical treatment starts with an integrative comprehension of the individual. Ongoing assessment and monitoring are crucial because clients’ symptoms and functioning may change throughout treatment and so do priorities and targets of intervention. Alcohol use is known to interfere with neuropsychological performance, psychiatric symptomatology, and social and personal functioning, so it is strongly recommended to conduct multiple evaluations to determine a better approach of patient’s genuine mental health and cognitive performance. An all-embracing assessment should appraise multiple domains of need and delve into the following areas: historical and recent patterns of drinking, dependence and withdrawal symptomatology, alcohol craving and impulsiveness, alcohol-related problems (i.e., legal, economic, occupational), self-efficacy and confidence in relapse prevention, readiness to change, other drug misuse including prescribed and under-the-counter medication, comorbid mental health disorders, comorbid physical health conditions, neurocognitive performance, social and personal functioning, quality of life, and disability. This information may be obtained by a precise clinical interview, but standardized tools and measures should be administered as well. This chapter will enumerate and briefly describe the most relevant psychometric instruments to evaluate alcohol use disorders and related problems, psychiatric comorbid symptomology, neurocognitive performance, and social functioning and quality of life issues.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Servicio de Salud Del Principado de Asturias (SESPA), Oviedo, Spain

    M. Teresa Bobes-Bascarán

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain

    M. Teresa Bobes-Bascarán

  3. INEUROPA-ISPA, Oviedo, Spain

    M. Teresa Bobes-Bascarán, M. Teresa Bascarán, M. Paz García-Portilla & Julio Bobes

  4. CIBERSAM, Oviedo, Spain

    M. Teresa Bobes-Bascarán, M. Teresa Bascarán, M. Paz García-Portilla & Julio Bobes

  5. Department of Psychiatry, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain

    M. Paz García-Portilla & Julio Bobes

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  1. M. Teresa Bobes-Bascarán
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Correspondence to Julio Bobes .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Addiction Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Nady el-Guebaly

  2. Mental Health Department, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Monza e Brianza, Italy

    Giuseppe Carrà

  3. Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Department of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Marc Galanter

  4. Population and Behavioural Science Division (Psychiatry and Addictions), University of St Andrews, St.Andrews, UK

    Alexander M. Baldacchino

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Bobes-Bascarán, M.T., Bascarán, M.T., García-Portilla, M.P., Bobes, J. (2021). Clinical Assessment of Alcohol Use Disorders. In: el-Guebaly, N., Carrà, G., Galanter, M., Baldacchino, A.M. (eds) Textbook of Addiction Treatment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36391-8_41

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