Skip to main content

Table 1 Overview of Module Content

From: Testing the efficacy of a minimal-guidance online self-help intervention for alcohol misuse in Estonia: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Module Number and Title

Module Content

M1: Introduction

• Introduction to the intervention

• Motivational enhancement (i.e., identifying reasons for change, and pros and cons of drinking and not drinking)

• Self-monitoring alcohol use and mood

M2: Strategies for Meeting Your Goals

• Strategies to change drinking habits, including stimulus control (e.g., ridding home of cues)

• Resisting alcohol in specific situations (e.g., situations involving negative emotions)

• Practicing refusal skills in high-risk situations

• Developing personal strategies to reduce/abstain from harmful alcohol use

M3: Learning to “Say No” to Alcohol

• Learning about the various ways to say no to alcohol.

• Ways to resist social pressures to drink

• Trying out a few role-plays to practice drinking-refusal skills

M4: Identifying Risky Situations

• Identifying personal high-risk situations for drinking

• Learning about “seemingly unimportant decisions” that could lead to heavy drinking

M5: Problem Solving

• Relating mood/alcohol issues to problems

• The difference between controllable and uncontrollable problems

• Formal problem solving (including problem identification, generating possible solutions, evaluating possible solutions, selecting a course of action, and evaluating the implementation of an action plan)

M6: Coping with Craving

• Psychoeducation about craving (e.g., different forms of craving [mental and physical])

• Introduce self-monitoring of craving

• New ways to effectively cope with cravings (e.g., distraction, talking, experiencing the craving, and recalling the negative outcomes of drinking)

M7: Dealing with Slips

• Define a “slip” versus a full-blown relapse

• Introduce ways to cope with slips in mood and/or drinking

M8: Meeting Your Needs

• “Sleep Hygiene”

• Ruminating and worrying less

• Increasing and/or improving social network

M9: Relaxation Exercise

• Key relaxation exercises to reduce stress (i.e., progressive muscle relaxation)

• Deep breathing

• Scheduling relaxation times during the week

M10: Preserve Your Success

• Identify “early warning signs” for slip/relapse

• Create a personalized relapse-prevention plan

• Discuss ways to cope with relapse

• Identify top five coping strategies