First real-world implementation of proven neurocognitive therapy receives $1.9 million funding to reach thousands of patients across Australia
In an Australian first, a brain training treatment proven to reduce alcohol relapse is set to be implemented in clinical practice across 14 inpatient withdrawal services nationwide, marking the first real-world rollout of Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM).
Professor Victoria Manning from Monash University has been awarded $1.9 million from a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Partnership Project Grant and a Ramsay Hospital Research Foundation (RHRF) Collaboration Research Grant to implement this innovative approach to alcohol treatment.
CBM is a form of neurocognitive training delivered by computer or a smartphone app, that helps people recovering from alcohol dependence by reducing the automatic tendency to notice and respond to alcohol cues in their environment. The therapy retrains the brain's automatic responses to alcohol-related triggers, addressing a key barrier many people face in maintaining abstinence.
This research project will develop and test ways for clinicians at treatment services to routinely offer CBM, both during and after inpatient treatment, to improve patient outcomes.
Backed by seven randomised controlled trials, CBM has been shown to help increase abstinence rates by as much as 17 per cent after people leave residential treatment. Yet despite being a brief, simple, low-cost intervention, it is still not used in clinical practice.
Over half of patients leaving inpatient withdrawal treatment return to alcohol use within just two weeks, and around 85 per cent return to drinking within a year.
"There is a clear need for additional evidence-based tools to support people during this critical period, and CBM has the potential to transform alcohol treatment," Professor Manning said.
"After years of trials proving CBM's effectiveness, we're thrilled to bring it into clinical practice. Everyone deserves access to the highest level of treatment options available."
The implementation will span 14 private and public inpatient withdrawal services, including Eastern Health, Western Health, Monash Health, Uniting VicTas, Ramsay Clinic Albert Road, Ramsay Clinic Adelaide, The Geelong Clinic, Wyndham Clinic Private Hospital, The Melbourne Clinic, Mildura Base Public Hospital, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Royal Prince Alfred, Royal North Shore Hospital, and Fiona Stanley Hospital.
The initiative brings together Australia's leading addiction researchers and clinicians from five universities. The team includes experts from Monash University's Eastern Health Clinical School, University of Sydney, University of Newcastle, University of Melbourne, alongside digital innovation specialists from Monash University's Action Lab.
Key partner organisations supporting the initiative include the Victorian Department of Health, Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association (VAADA), Drug and Alcohol Nurses of Australasia (DANA), Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC), Hospitals Contribution Fund (HCF) and Turning Point, Eastern Health.
The project will launch with an intensive year-long co-design phase. Nurses and consumers from all sites will work together to refine the team's existing computer and smartphone applications.
This collaborative approach will ensure the treatment is tailored to work effectively in real-world healthcare settings and will be followed by a Staircase Randomised Controlled Trial and comprehensive implementation evaluation.
Professor Manning said bringing together frontline healthcare workers and people with lived experience was essential for the success of the initiative.
"I am extremely grateful to our generous partner organisations who embrace innovative approaches and cannot wait to work with them on this exciting project," said Professor Manning.
"This project marks a significant transition from research to practice, taking a proven intervention from a clinical trial environment into the complex reality of inpatient withdrawal services where it can support thousands of Australians with alcohol dependence, regardless of their background or circumstances."
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