Project MATCH
Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Heterogeneity
Patient / Population Intervention / Exposure Comparison Outcome
In 1,726 adults with alcohol use disorder, CBT, motivational enhancement therapy or twelve-step facilitation (12 weeks) produced equivalent drinking outcomes over 1-year follow-up.
N
1,726
Design
Multi-site RCT, USA
Endpoint
Percent days abstinent and drinks per drinking day
Relevance
1
ResultAll three psychotherapies substantially improved drinking over 1 year; the matching hypothesis was largely unsupported.
Project MATCH Research Group. J Stud Alcohol. 1997;58(1):7-29. 10.15288/jsa.1997.58.7
Discussion & critique
Showed bona-fide alcohol therapies are interchangeable; matching by client features adds little.