Integrative Couple Treatment for Gambling/Substance Use Disorder

Background:Couple-based intervention is one of the clinical innovations to increase access, retention and effectiveness of treatment in the field of addiction.Couple-based intervention for the treatment of problems related to gambling or substance use disorder (GD/SUD) is more effective than no treatment and the subjective experience of the members of the couple illustrates important clinical gains (better understanding addiction, resolve conflicts, etc.). A study conducted by the research team revealed a better effectiveness of couple-based treatment for GD than the individual treatment usually offered. Despite these positive results, this study highlighted a need to improve the couple intervention model (Integrative Couple Treatment for Pathological Gambling- ICT-PG). First of all, it did not allow to reach people having a SUD. Previous studies conducted by the research team also illustrated the need for more clinical work on serious relationship injuries caused by gambling. The investigators also accentuated their work on the strategies used by the partners and having an impact on the gambler's gambling behaviors.

Goal : Evaluate the effectiveness of a couple-based treatment (Integrative Couple Therapy for Addiction ICT-A; experimental group) compared to the individual treatment usually offer (control group) for people with GD/SUD.

Method/Design : A sample of at least 100 couples will be randomized to either ICT-A (experimental group) or the usual individual treatment (control group). The couple treatment called Integrative Couple Therapy for Addiction (ICT-A) is inspired by the "Alcohol Behavior Couple Therapy" from Epstein and McCrady, to which the team added diverse components to adjust to gamblers. During the sessions, the focus is on a) reducing/stopping gambling or substance use behaviors, b) helping the partner to stop behaviors facilitating gambling habits or substance use and rise the frequency of behaviors incompatible with gambling habits or substance use c) improve marital components (communication, sharing positive moments, negotiation, mutual support).The control group receives individual treatment as already offered by the specialized centers in addiction. All participants are recruited in Specialized Addiction Treatment Centers in Quebec Province, Canada. Repeated measures will be conducted at admission, 6, 12 and 18 months post-admission on the addiction's severity (primary outcome), on various couples' dimensions (secondary outcome) and various indicators of personal well-being (secondary outcome).In order to compare the effectiveness of the two treatment modalities, a series of regression analyzes will be carried out taking into account the correlation between the observations for the same individual and measurements repeated over time (linear mixed models; PROC MIXED of SAS).