Commentaries on R. Mellor & A. Ritter (2020). Redressing Responses to the Treatment Gap for People with Alcohol Problems

Excerpt In their subtly provocative paper, Mellor and Ritter (2020) have done a valuable service for a host of addiction treatment constituencies, including treatment planners, service providers, research scientists and problems drinkers. In my commentary, I will not discuss the authors' critique of the gap between assumed need for treatment and the actual receipt for services, but also address two other gaps that need to be considered in this context: the diagnostic gap between mild/uncomplicated and sever/complicated alcohol problems and the conceptual gap between individual and population approaches to the resolution of alcohol-related problems.