Twelve lawyers with alcoholism admitted to an inpatient alcohol treatment service were studied. The group tended to have many additional psychiatric problems, the most frequent of which were affective disorders. Most of the admissions were precipitated by work-related problems. All patients were initially highly resistant to treatment and evoked negative feelings in staff, who perceived them as poor prognostic cases. However, the treatment outcome as measured by abstinence, improved job performance, and shifts in attitude towards treatment was better than expected.
