The Experimental Manipulation of Desire Thinking in Alcohol use Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Desire thinking is a voluntary cognitive process involving verbal and imaginal elaboration of a desired target. Recent research has revealed that desire thinking may play a significant role in the escalation of craving. The goal of this study was to explore the effect of a desire thinking induction on craving in a sample of patients with alcohol use disorder. METHODS: Ten patients with alcohol use disorder were exposed to a brief exposure to alcohol-related thoughts plus desire thinking induction versus brief exposure to alcohol-related thoughts plus distraction. RESULTS: The induction of desire thinking led to a significant increase in distress and urge to use alcohol when compared to a behavioural assessment test and a distraction task. The clinical implications for the treatment of alcohol use disorder are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE: Psychotherapeutic strategies that target desire thinking, both at the assessment and at the intervention levels, may be relevant in the treatment of craving-related problems. Deriving and illustrating the role of desire thinking in a given episode of craving may support the development of metacognitive awareness about its functions and consequences. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. "This is the peer reviewed version of the article, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2038. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving."