Suppression of drinking persisted at 12-
and 18-month follow ups in these studies. Similarly,
Bien (1991) found that patients given a
single session of motivational interviewing, as a
prelude to outpatient alcoholism treatment in a
Veterans Affairs hospital, showed significantly
greater reduction on drinking measures at a
3-month follow-up interview relative to randomly
assigned controls treated without a motivational
interview. Kuchipudi, Hobein, Flickinger, and
Iber (1990), in contrast, reported no effect of a
motivational intervention on patients with alcoholrelated
gastrointestinal diseases who had previously
failed to respond to medical advice.