Table 1 Content and features of Beating the Booze

Create & set up account

Determining personal drinking goal

Abstinence: gradually reduce alcohol use until abstinence.

Controlled drinking: set the maximum of drinks per day and number of drinking days.

Setting up personal profile, preferences for program reminders

Choosing animated avatar, name, preferences for receiving program reminders (e.g. registering alcohol use, progress report after completing modules, notification for reply’s on forum boards).

Optional: inviting a buddy who receives progress reports.

Getting started

Daily alcohol use registration during the program

Registration and monitoring of daily alcohol use and if preferred, registration of where and with whom and what type of thoughts and feelings the participant experienced.

Optional: registration of mood and activities during the day.

Module 1: Changing alcohol use

Animated video: introduction about the program.

Reading assignment: tips for the optimal program experience.

Assignment: writing down disadvantages of current alcohol use and advantages of changing alcohol use in short- and long-term.

Reading assignment: information on self-control strategies that may help to adhere to the drinking goal.

Assignment: writing down personal self-control strategies.

Summary assessment: self-reflection questions in which the key points of module 1 are summarized.

Module 2: Preventing relapse

Animated video: information on withdrawal symptoms.

Reading assignment: physical and mental short- and long-term effects of alcohol.

Reading assignment: dealing with craving.

Optional assignment: setting up a personal activity list of things to do.

Reading assignment: learning from a relapse.

Assignment: writing down a personal relapse plan.

Summary assessment: self-reflection questions in which the key points of module 2 are summarized.

Module 3: Recognizing & dealing with high risk situations

Animated video: information about how help from others can help in adhering to drinking goal.

Reading assignment: identifying high risk situations.

Assignment: writing down personal high risk situations.

Optional Quiz 1: facts about alcohol and depression.

Reading assignment: patient story.

Summary assessment: self-reflection questions in which the key points of module 3 are summarized.

Module 4: Gaining insight

Animated video: skills to decline offered alcoholic drinks.

Assignment: insight in to personal drinking patterns (graphs that visually display frequent locations and persons and experienced thoughts and feelings from when the participant drinks alcohol and that were registered during the program).

Assignment: writing down a personal prevention plan.

Optional assignment: update the personal activity list.

Summary assessment: self-reflection questions in which the key points of module 4 are summarized.

Module 5: Restructuring thoughts

Animated video: information about restructuring and challenging negative thoughts.

Optional Quiz 2: facts about alcohol.

Reading assignment: information about the relationship between thoughts, feeling and behaviour.

Assignment: challenging negative thoughts by writing down helping thoughts.

Reading assignment: patient story.

Summary assessment: self-reflection questions in which the key points of module 5 are summarized.

Aftercare module 6: Staying motivated

Animated video: final video that summarizes phase 1–5.

Reading assignment: information about other treatment resources for reducing alcohol use.

Reading assignment: patient story.

Final summary assessment: self-reflection questions about achievements and challenges regarding changing alcohol use.

Extra (optional) features

Diary

Free writing in diary.

Forum

Various forum boards about depression and alcohol use, to exchange positive personal stories and motivate and talk to other peers.

Dealing with craving

Tips and assignments about how to cope with craving.

Additional information

Additional information and tips for: alcohol-free drinks, tips to stay motivated, how to deal with stress, tips to sleep better, definition standard glasses, dealing with negative feelings, mindfulness exercises.

Insight in alcohol use patterns and high risk situations

Visual graphs: displays with whom and which locations and specific thoughts and feelings that the participant registered and experienced when drinking alcohol.

Progress report

Monthly calendar: displays the registered days in which participant did or did not adhere to their drinking goal. Days that light up green indicate drinking below drinking goal and red indicate drinking above drinking goal.

Milestones & badges

Earning badges for program activities and achievements: e.g. adhering to drinking goal for certain amount of time, writing in diary, posting messages on the forum boards, completing modules.

Program progress reports e-mails

Personalized progress reports of completed modules.