The Bruges Model

This article offers a program description of a new approach to the treatment of problematic drinking developed at St. John's Hospital, Bruges, Belgium. The program is based on Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, and is offered in both an inpatient and outpatient setting. Four-year follow-up telephone interviews were conducted for 118 inpatients and 72 outpatients who had completed the program; 84% of the inpatients and 81% of the outpatients reported maintaining their goals of either abstinence or controlled-drinking four years after completion of the program. The benefits of using a Solution-Focused Brief Therapy model for the treatment of problem drinking are discussed.