You’re not alone. Most people ask this. Here’s why.

It hasn’t been widely promoted
Naltrexone is a long-established, low-cost medication. Treatments without commercial backing rarely benefit from large-scale awareness campaigns or public education.

Abstinence has dominated the conversation
For decades, alcohol treatment has been led by abstinence-only models. Approaches focused on reducing drinking and restoring control have often sat outside the mainstream discussion.

Stigma keeps the topic quiet
Alcohol struggles are rarely talked about openly. That means progress stories tend to spread privately, through personal conversations rather than headlines.

Prescribing guidelines haven’t fully caught up yet
Although Naltrexone is approved and referenced in UK clinical guidance for alcohol dependence, prescribing guidelines were written before The Sinclair Method gained wider recognition. As a result, they focus on using the medication after detox to support abstinence, rather than the targeted, evidence-based approach used within TSM.

It doesn’t fit the usual recovery story
Medication-assisted treatment doesn’t come with a “rock bottom to hero” narrative.

There’s no battle to conquer, no lifelong identity to wear, and no public badge of suffering. For many people, that feels unfamiliar or even uncomfortable.

Alcohol Use Disorder is increasingly understood as a neurological condition. When a neurological condition is treated effectively, change can look quiet, gradual, and unremarkable from the outside. That doesn’t make it less valid. It just makes it different.

Culturally, we’re more used to celebrating struggle than progress. A method that reduces craving and restores control without a visible fight doesn’t always attract attention, even when it works.

The good news: awareness is growing
More people are sharing real experiences, social media is spreading the success, clinicians are paying attention, and evidence-led approaches are gaining visibility.

As evidence evolves, awareness follows.

For many people, this is the first time they’ve been shown a genuine alternative.

You can certainly start with your GP, but most people find it’s another road to abstinence. Here’s why:

1.⁠ ⁠Licensing and Official Guidance

In the UK, naltrexone is licensed only to maintain complete abstinence, usually after detox. NHS prescribing protocols say the patient must already be alcohol-free before the first dose.

The Sinclair Method flips that script - you take naltrexone before drinking to retrain the brain... Because prescribing that way sits outside the guidelines, any GP who prescribes it is writing an off-label script, which is uncommon when alcohol is involved; as the consequences can be dangerous.

2.⁠ ⁠Moral and Clinical Dilemmas

For many clinicians, giving a medication while a person continues to drink feels like “enabling.”

Current NICE guidance even advises doctors to review treatment if drinking carries on. So when you explain the TSM approach (drink with the pill), some doctors simply won’t be comfortable.

3.⁠ ⁠Off-Label Rules and Governance

UK doctors can prescribe off-label, but only if they’re confident there’s strong evidence and proper monitoring.

Without a structured programme in place, most GPs feel they can’t tick that box, so they refer you to secondary-care alcohol services instead: a process that can involve assessments, waiting lists, and abstinence-based programmes before medication is discussed.

How Rethink Drink Bridges the Gap:

Private addiction specialists: we work with doctors who fully understand (and were even involved in the research studies of) The Sinclair Method, and have the clinical expertise to prescribe naltrexone off-label when clinically appropriate.

Built-in support: coaching, drink-tracking, and a ring-fenced community which satisfy medical governance for follow-up and monitoring.

Fast access: appointments within days and next-day delivery of medication, rather than months of waiting.

You’re welcome to take the NHS route, and we can give you research papers to share with your GP.

But if you want a quicker path - with doctors who understand The Sinclair Method and a full support system wrapped around you - we’re here to make that happen.

Everyone's brain, drinking history and current drinking habits are different, so there’s no single clock we can set.

Still, evidence, coaches and members experience give us a helpful roadmap:

•⁠ ⁠First 1–4 weeks: cravings often soften, heavy-drinking episodes shrink, the first early wins appear.

•⁠ ⁠Around 3–6 months: with consistency, urges drop, intake is typically 50–70 % lower, and alcohol-free days often begin to outnumber drinking days.

•⁠ ⁠6–12 months: many reach “pharmacological extinction”: the brain has largely unlearned its old reward loop, and drinking becomes a choice, not a compulsion.

•⁠ ⁠12 months and beyond: some people need a longer runway depending on life stressors, trauma work, or deeply-ingrained habits. Progress can pause, zig-zag, then surge forward again... And that’s perfectly normal.

100 % compliance: following the protocol every single time you drink.

Habit change & coaching: identifying triggers, questioning habits, stacking new routines, using the Drink Tracker.

Accurate logging: “data over drama” lets us fine-tune dosage or habits quickly if things aren't going to plan, or you plateau.

External pressures & coping load: grief, health issues, career upheaval, or caregiving can pull the alcohol-as-coping lever harder.

When that happens, progress may stall or zig-zag; we simply adjust the plan and keep moving.

The first 90 days matter because they establish whether this approach is working for you, and whether it is safe and appropriate to continue.

This initial period gives our prescribing doctors confidence that you’re supported with proper monitoring, guidance, and coaching while you learn the protocol. That matters, because this is medical treatment, not a self-help experiment.

It also allows time to build the fundamentals that make long-term success possible.
Those first three months are where you establish:

• consistent medication use
• accurate tracking and awareness
• early habit and environment changes

Without these in place, progress can become unreliable and frustrating.

Just as importantly, the first 90 days allow us to assess how your body and behaviour are responding. If the process is not working as it should, we want to know that early. That way we can adjust, offer additional support, or, if needed, help you decide whether The Sinclair Method is the right fit for you at all.

That early clarity is safer for you and more responsible for everyone involved.

We work on a solid foundation so you don’t have to rely on willpower or guesswork later.

For the majority of people, when the protocol is followed and support is used properly, meaningful change begins within weeks, with solid, lasting control typically developing over 6 to 12 months.

Sometimes sooner. Sometimes later.

That timeline flexes with real life. Stress, habits, environment, and consistency all play a role. But the direction of travel stays the same.

This approach works because it targets the neurological driver of over-drinking, not just the behaviour. When alcohol stops delivering the same reward, drinking naturally begins to reduce. That reduction is then supported and stabilised through coaching, habit change, and awareness.

What matters most is compliance and engagement:
- Taking the medication as prescribed.
- Tracking honestly.
- Leaning on support when things feel messy or unclear.

This isn’t about permission to drink. It’s about changing the relationship with alcohol, in a structured, supported reduction process, designed to help you regain control safely and sustainably.

Our role is to guide those changes, help you navigate setbacks, and make sure the process is working as it should. If it is not, we address that early and responsibly.

The destination is not abstinence by force.

It is freedom, choice, and control on your terms.