Positive Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder: A Systematic Review

Vollständiger Abstract

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This study is a systematic review examining the effects of positive psychotherapy-based treatment of alcohol dependence on craving and relapse within the framework of psychiatry, clinical psychology, and addiction literature. Alcohol use disorder is a chronic and relapsing mental health problem characterized by impaired control over alcohol use, tolerance development, and continued use despite negative consequences. Positive psychotherapy, developed by Nossrat Peseschkian as a humanistic, psychodynamic, resource-oriented, and transcultural integrative approach, holds that every human being is endowed with the two basic capacities of love and knowledge, and that illness should be read not merely as pathology but also as an expression of the individual’s effort to cope with conflicts. The literature review was conducted using national and international academic databases, primarily Google Scholar, with the keywords "alcohol use disorder," "positive psychotherapy," "craving," "relapse," and "psychosocial intervention." The findings were organized thematically around the question of how positive psychotherapy contributes to the treatment of alcohol dependence. According to the findings, positive psychotherapy strengthens treatment motivation through the principle of hope and positive reframing; restructures the disturbed balance across the four life domains through the balance model; contributes to the management of craving through resource-oriented interventions based on actual capacities; provides a structured framework that reduces relapse risk through the five-stage therapy process; and, owing to its use of stories and metaphors and its transcultural nature, offers an intervention adaptable to Turkish culture. In conclusion, positive psychotherapy can serve both protective and complementary functions in the treatment of alcohol dependence; therefore, resource-oriented psychosocial interventions should be considered in treatment planning and addiction policy development. However, because randomized controlled trials directly testing the efficacy of positive psychotherapy in alcohol use disorder samples are scarce, these findings should be interpreted cautiously—not as established effects of the approach, but as a theoretical mapping of its mechanisms onto empirical findings in the broader literature. Positioning positive psychotherapy-based programs as approaches that strengthen pharmacological treatment and support sustainable recovery, rather than replacing it, is of critical importance.