SMS study for alcohol dependence

INTERVENTION: Patients will receive automatically generated personalized SMS over mobile phones with the following regimen: in month 1‐2 twice a week, in month 3 once a week, and in months 4 to 12 every second week. The SMS messages from the study centre are sent to receive information about relapses and need for help as early as possible. Patients have to answer within 24h with "N" (no help is needed) or "J" (help is needed or relapse has occurred). They also may send an "emergency‐SMS" anytime. In case of sending ?J?, or in case of not replying, an e mail to a therapist will be generated by the system to call the patient by telephone. The therapist will then provide brief telephone counselling and may recommend routinely existing and available interventions (support, brief interventions, outpatient treatment or readmission). Therapists of four hospitals in Mecklenburg‐Pomerania will receive training for brief telephone counselling. A manual is provided detailing interventions to be recommended to the patient. Patients sending "N" receive an automatically generated supporting SMS. Control group receives treatment as usual (TAU) only CONDITION: Alcohol dependence; alcohol withdrawal ; Mental and Behavioural Disorders ; Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol PRIMARY OUTCOME: 1. Level of alcohol consumption? with three ordered categories abstinence < non‐heavy ; drinking < heavy drinking, using the WHO criteria of heavy drinking of > 60g/day for males and > 40 g/day for females, in months 10 to 12 after randomization SECONDARY OUTCOME: 1. Cumulative drinking days ; 2. Standard consumption units; 3. Number of heavy drinking episodes; 4. Time to first heavy drinking episode; 5. Utilisation of treatment services; 6. Self‐rated health quality; 7. Craving ; 8. Social characteristics such as partnership and housing INCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Alcohol dependence [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM‐IV)] 2. Inpatient alcohol detoxification treatment 3. Male or female adult patients aged >18 years, legally competent 4. Able to read and send SMS messages 5. Written informed consent of the patient