Helpful Links

Direct links are provided only to websites with HTTPS security.

Information resources

• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): For information on the causes, consequences, prevention, and treatment of alcohol-related problems from the lead U.S. research agency on alcohol and health: (301) 443-3860. Sample publications:
  • Treatment for Alcohol Problems: Finding and Getting Help: This guide is written for individuals, and their family and friends, who are looking for options to address alcohol problems. It is intended as a resource to understand what treatment choices are available and what to consider when selecting among them.
  • Rethinking Drinking: This website contains background information about drinking patterns and the risk for alcohol use disorder.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): For information about substance abuse prevention and treatment services. If you receive referrals to treatment programs, use the Navigator’s 10 Questions to Ask an Alcohol Treatment Program to evaluate the services offered. 24-hour Help Hotline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): For information about other drug problems that often coexist with alcohol problems: (301) 443-1124.
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): For information on problems such as anxiety and depression that can coexist with alcohol problems: (866) 615-6464.

Mutual-support groups

• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Phone: 212-870-3400. Meeting finder app for iOS and Android smartphones: Meeting Guide.
• LifeRing. Phone: 800-811-4142
• Moderation Management.
• Secular AA – Calendar of worldwide secular meetings
• Secular Organizations for Sobriety – Find a meeting
• SMART Recovery. Phone: 440-951-5357
• Women for Sobriety. Phone: 215-536-8026

eHealth Alcohol Treatment Tools*

Below are samples of e-health tools developed with NIAAA funding. Each of these fee-based tools has a research base that shows its potential to help people cut down or quit drinking. For a brief, technical summary of developments in this area, see the NIAAA Alcohol Alert issue on eHealth Technology.

• A-CHESS—A mobile relapse prevention tool; available from some specialty treatment providers and programs.
• CBT4CBT—A self-guided, web-based cognitive behavioral therapy program that teaches skills to help people stop or reduce drinking; health professionals can provide a prescription.
• CheckUp & Choices—A digital self-help program to guide people in deciding whether to change their drinking habits and developing skills to make a change.

For family and friends

• Al-Anon: This mutual help group offers “strength and hope for friends and families of problem drinkers.”
• Resources about the Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) Approach: An evidence-based, nonconfrontational method of encouraging people to enter treatment for addiction.*
  • Addiction: The Next Step—Crisis Toolkit: Offers videos, tips, and tools to guide individuals in using the CRAFT approach.
  • Get Your Loved One Sober: Alternatives to Nagging, Pleading, and Threatening* by Robert J. Meyers and Brenda L. Wolfe. Available from booksellers and libraries, this book provides guidance in using the CRAFT approach.

For healthcare professionals

See the Navigator page for healthcare professionals for information on:

• How to use the Navigator to expand your list of alcohol treatment referrals  
• How to share the Navigator with patients or loved ones 
• How to screen, assess, and prescribe AUD medications   

Clinical trials on alcohol treatment  

NIAAA supports research on alcohol treatment at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland and at research centers throughout the country.  

• Learn about NIAAA studies in Bethesda, Maryland, by visiting the Join a Study page or calling 301-496-1993. 

• See a full list of NIAAA-supported clinical trials at institutions around the country. 

For those seeking adolescent treatment resources

• Partnership to End Addiction: This organization guides families and caregivers in finding treatment options for teens and provides an overview of the Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) approach to improving family dynamics.

*NIAAA has included several potentially useful resources developed with NIAAA funding or based on evidence-based principles derived from research funded by NIAAA and NIDA. As a federal agency, however, NIAAA cannot endorse any particular commercial product or service.