This is a pilot study to assess feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a single-session ("ultrabrief") psychological intervention to reduce alcohol use in participants with mild to moderate alcohol use disorder (AUD). The intervention is a condensed form of the Life Enhancement Treatment for Substance Use (LETS ACT), behavioral activation (BA) for co-morbid depression and substance use. The investigators hypothesize that UBA is feasible and acceptable. The investigators hypothesize that UBA will reduce overall total alcohol consumption as determined by self-report measures capturing drinking behavior for the 3 months prior to treatment versus the 3 months after treatment when compared to an "assessment only" condition.
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
Condition (as posted)
Mapped entity
Match
Confidence
Alcohol Use Disorder, Mild
—
UNRESOLVED
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Alcohol Use Disorder, Moderate
—
UNRESOLVED
—
Interventions
Interventions (1)
Intervention
Type
Mapped drug
Match
Ultrabrief Behavioral Activation
Behavioral
—
UNRESOLVED
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
type
EXPERIMENTAL
label
UBA Arm
description
All subjects in this arm will receive ultrabrief behavioral activation therapy via a single, 90-minute session.
interventionNames
Behavioral: Ultrabrief Behavioral Activation
type
NO_INTERVENTION
label
Control Arm
description
All subjects in this arm will complete all study assessment instruments collected in the interventional arm but will not receive an intervention.
Primary outcomes (3)
measure
Feasibility via average rate of enrollment of eligible participants
timeFrame
Through completion of the study, an average of 1 year
description
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
Sex
All
Minimum age
18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria:
* Diagnosis of mild or moderate alcohol use disorder based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-V (DSM-5) criteria
* Age: 18 years or older
Exclusion Criteria:
* Psychotic disorder as determined by the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI)
* Current suicidality as determined by the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)
* Diagnosis of severe alcohol or substance use disorder (AUD;SUD) based on MINI
* Receiving concurrent psychotherapy for a mental health-related condition
* Concurrent use of FDA approved medications for the treatment of a substance us disorder
* Change in psychiatric medication in the last four weeks
* The inability to give informed, voluntary, written consent to participate
* Inability to communicate effectively in English as determined by interaction with study personnel
* Anything else that in the assessment of the investigational team is not conducive to successful completion of study requirements
References
Publications (28)
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BACKGROUNDParra, P.A.R., J.I. Uribe, and J.M. Bianchi, Effectiveness of a Single Session Protocol of Behavioral Activation in College Students with Depressive Symptomatology. International journal of psychology and psychological therapy, 2019. 19(1): p. 5-14
BACKGROUNDDaughters SB, Magidson JF, Anand D, Seitz-Brown CJ, Chen Y, Baker S. The effect of a behavioral activation treatment for substance use on post-treatment abstinence: a randomized controlled trial. Addiction. 2018 Mar;113(3):535-544. doi: 10.1111/add.14049. Epub 2017 Nov 19. PMID 28963853
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The investigators will compute the average rate of enrollment of eligible participants when 20 participants have concluded study participation to determine the feasibility of such interventions.
measure
Feasibility via computed fraction of participants who have completed all assessment in this study
timeFrame
Baseline up to 3-months Post treatment (Follow up 3)
description
The investigators will compute the fraction of participants who have completed all assessments in this study (baseline, 2-weeks post treatment, 1-month post treatment-3-months post treatment)
measure
Acceptability via summary scores and statistics of study-designed treatment engagement and acceptability assessment instruments
timeFrame
2 weeks Post Treatment (2 week follow-up)
description
Acceptability will be characterized by computing summary scores and their corresponding statistics from the Treatment Engagement and Acceptability Assessment (TEA) designed for this study. Scores on the TEA range from a minimum score of 20 to a maximum score of 100, with higher scores indicating greater treatment engagement and acceptability.
Secondary outcomes (4)
measure
Change in alcohol consumption via average amount of alcohol consumed per drinking day
timeFrame
3 months prior to Baseline up to 3-months post treatment
description
The investigators will compute the change in total alcohol consumption from the three months prior to Baseline up to 3 months post treatment based on the average amount of alcohol consumed per drinking day in the 3 months prior to baseline compared to the average amount of alcohol consumed per drinking day reported in the 3 months post treatment as recorded on the time-line followback (TLFB) in both study arms and assess a pre-treatment, post-treatment difference between groups.
measure
Change in alcohol consumption via number of drinking days
timeFrame
3 months prior to Baseline up to 3-months post treatment
description
The investigators will compute the change in total alcohol consumption from the three months prior to Baseline up to 3 months post treatment based on the number of reported drinking days in the 3 months prior to baseline compared to the number of drinking days reported in the 3 months post treatment as recorded on the time-line followback (TLFB) in both study arms and assess a pre-treatment, post-treatment difference between groups.
measure
Feasibility via computed fraction of participants that successfully completed at least 1 of each activity independently as per record in treatment booklet
timeFrame
2 weeks Post treatment
description
The investigators will compute the fraction of participants who filled in the treatment booklets in a way that the participants completed at least one of each activity independently at-home (i.e., at least 1 activity and value for at least 3 life areas AND at least 2 alternative activities to alcohol AND at least 1 activity daily for 14 days). This measures feasibility of participants performing work that would be done in-session in longer interventions at home on their own for UBA.
measure
Feasibility via the therapist questionnaire (TQ) developed by the investigators for this study
timeFrame
Immediately following Treatment Session
description
The investigators will assemble formal feedback from the form for the therapist to fill out (TQ); 3 sub-scores for material covered, acceptance by participant, and participant engagement. The Material Covered subscale ranges from a minimum score of 0 to a maximum score of 10, with higher scores indicating less thorough material coverage. The Acceptance sub-scale ranges from a minimum score of 4 to a maximum score of 20, with higher scores indicating higher levels of acceptance. The Participant Engagement sub-scale ranges from a minimum score of 5 to a maximum score of 25, with higher scores indicating higher levels of participant engagement.
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BACKGROUNDMcNeely J, Wu LT, Subramaniam G, Sharma G, Cathers LA, Svikis D, Sleiter L, Russell L, Nordeck C, Sharma A, O'Grady KE, Bouk LB, Cushing C, King J, Wahle A, Schwartz RP. Performance of the Tobacco, Alcohol, Prescription Medication, and Other Substance Use (TAPS) Tool for Substance Use Screening in Primary Care Patients. Ann Intern Med. 2016 Nov 15;165(10):690-699. doi: 10.7326/M16-0317. Epub 2016 Sep 6. PMID 27595276
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DERIVEDFrohlich F, Stewart Z, Korsapathy S, Kane L, Daughters SB. Single-session behavioral activation for alcohol use disorder: a randomized controlled pilot trial. Cogn Behav Ther. 2026 May;55(3):405-431. doi: 10.1080/16506073.2025.2512146. Epub 2025 Jul 15. PMID 40662880