How to Get Started
To get started, give us a call at 866-539-6113 (toll-free) or 860-679-2745.
When you call, you will be screened over the phone to see if you are eligible to participate.
The next step is an intake evaluation at UConn Health. This intake takes about two hours, and involves giving us your consent to be in the study, taking a breathalyzer reading, completing a number of interviews and questionnaires, and receiving your treatment assignment.
After the intake evaluation you will be introduced to the Interactive Voice Recording (IVR) system, which will give us an idea of your habits and problem areas.
The IVR system is a computer system that will call you on the telephone four times a day to ask questions about your drinking, as well as your thoughts and feelings about drinking, and about the places or situations where you spend your time. This daily recording will continue for 14 days, until treatment begins. You will be trained how to use the cell phone to answer these questions. After the 14 days are up treatment will begin. Because answering these questions is so important, we will offer an incentive for doing the cell phone monitoring. You will be paid $1.00 for every completed call, and will receive a bonus of $6.00 (total of up to $10.00 per day) if all calls for that day are completed. The possible total incentive will thus be $70.00 per week, or $140.00 total in the two weeks before treatment begins.
Treatment sessions will be conducted once per week. Scheduling of treatment sessions will be arranged between you and your therapist. Treatment is scheduled for 12 sessions. You will have 14 weeks to complete the 12 sessions. Regardless of which treatment you receive, the therapist will ask you to try to make changes in your behavior and to work on new tasks between treatment sessions (“homework”) to help you keep from using alcohol. Between-treatment assignments might include making lists of non-drinking activities or making efforts to engage in new sober activities. All treatments will be delivered by highly experienced therapists who have been specially trained to provide the treatments in this study. After your treatment phase ends, you will be asked to do another round of daily recordings for a period of two weeks done in the same manner as the pre-treatment calls. The possible total incentive will be $70.00 per week. These recordings are extremely important to see if our treatment has made lasting changes in the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings of our patients.
In addition, you will be followed-up every three months for 21 months. The follow-up interviews alternate between in-person interviews (you are paid $50) and phone interviews (you are paid $10).
THANK YOU!
Your participation in the IATP II project is greatly valued and appreciated. You will be receiving counseling for yourself, while helping to improve treatment for others with alcohol problems.