Alcohol Moderation
A structured way to change your drinking
Alcohol moderation at Insight Into Action Therapy is a clinical approach used within individual therapy for people who want to change their drinking, but are not ready or appropriate for a permanent abstinence model. Instead of forcing you into an all or nothing decision, your clinician looks at when, how, and why you drink, then builds a plan to reduce risk, harm, and impact in a deliberate way.
This is not a stand alone “program.” It is a therapy modality we use with adults who want a more precise way to work with alcohol than “quit or keep going.”
Alcohol Use on a spectrum
Insight knows that all use is not addiction. Substance use occurs on a spectrum and should be treated accordingly. That spectrum based view is a core way this practice operates.
Within that framework, we offer:
- Alcohol moderation work led by co founder Cyndi Turner, author and developer of the Alcohol Moderation Assessment and a national trainer in moderation and harm reduction, with co founder Craig James
- Harm reduction psychotherapy that meets you where you are and focuses on steady, meaningful change
You do not have to stop using substances to work with us. You do not have to go to AA, NA, or 12 Step to receive care here. Support comes in many forms, and there are many paths to recovery. Alcohol moderation is one of them, when it is clinically appropriate and safely structured.
Who alcohol moderation can help
Alcohol moderation work may be appropriate if you:
- Are drinking more than you want, but still have periods of control
- Have seen consequences emerging at home, at work, or medically, but not at the level of repeated severe crises
- Have tried to “cut back” on your own and keep ending up in the same pattern
- Are not ready to commit to lifelong abstinence, but are willing to track, adjust, and be accountable
- Want an alternative to abstinence only approaches that have not fit your beliefs, goals, or life structure
Moderation is not a fit for everyone. Part of the work is deciding honestly whether reduced drinking is realistic and safe in your case.
The Alcohol Moderation Assessment
Insight Into Action Therapy uses the Alcohol Moderation Assessment, developed by co-founder Cyndi Turner, to help determine whether moderation is a clinically sound option. The goal is simple: to estimate your likelihood of safely practicing moderation and to identify where guardrails are needed. This structured assessment looks at:
- Your drinking history, patterns, and highest risk episodes
- Medical, psychiatric, and family risk factors
- Past attempts to quit or reduce and what happened
- Current motivation, support, and honesty about risk
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Alcohol moderation plan
Once a moderation plan is considered appropriate, therapy shifts into specific, measurable work, including:
- Setting clear limits on quantity, frequency, and drinking situations
- Identifying high risk contexts where moderation repeatedly fails
- Tracking drinks, urges, and outcomes in a straightforward way
- Building alternative strategies for stress, conflict, and social pressure
- Adjusting the plan based on actual data, not wishful thinking
- Addressing underlying mental health issues that drive drinking, such as anxiety, depression, trauma, or bipolar spectrum conditions.
If your drinking is no longer matching the life you want, but “never again” does not feel honest or realistic, alcohol moderation work offers a structured middle ground. Contact our office to discuss whether an Alcohol Moderation Assessment and moderation focused therapy are appropriate next steps for you.