OLITA - Outpatient longterm intensive therapy for alcoholics

OLITA, the Outpatient Longterm Intensive Therapy for Alcoholics, was developed as a comprehensive research project in 1993. This paper reports on the results of the OLITA project and its future perspectives. In summer 2003, the monocentric pilot study in Göttingen was completed successfully after ten years and the enrollment of 180 patients. More than 50% of the patients remained abstinent during a follow-up of up to seven years after termination of therapy. The unemployment rate declined from 58% to 22%, comorbid psychiatric disorders decreased from 60% to 13%. An ongoing video-based prospective longitudinal study investigates the therapeutic processes associated with this success. At present, a multicenter trial for the translation of OLITA using the franchising approach is initiated.