Randomised controlled trial of integrated cognitive behavioural treatment and motivational enhancement for comorbid social anxiety and alcohol use disorders.

Alcohol use disorder and social anxiety disorder are interconnected disorders that commonly co-occur. We report the first trial to assess whether integrated treatment for social anxiety and alcohol use disorder comorbidity improves outcomes relative to standard alcohol-focussed treatment. Participants were recruited to a randomised controlled trial, and randomly allocated to one of two treatments, Integrated ( At 6-month follow-up, both conditions showed significant reductions in social anxiety and alcohol use disorder symptoms, and improved quality of life. There was no evidence of between-condition differences for alcohol outcomes, with mean consumption reduced by 5.0 (0.8) and 5.8 (1.0) drinks per day following Alcohol and Integrated treatments, respectively. Integrated treatment achieved greater improvements in social anxiety symptoms (mean difference = -14.9, 95% confidence interval = [-28.1, -1.6], These results suggest that integrated social anxiety and alcohol use disorder treatment enhances quality of life and social anxiety disorder symptom improvement, but not alcohol outcomes, compared to treatment focussed on alcohol use disorder alone.