As well as a physical addiction, a craving for alcohol is the result of changes to how the brain works. Every time you drink, neurotransmitters release endorphins, the chemicals in the brain that make you feel pleasure. However, alcohol has a damaging impact on the activity levels of these neurotransmitters, meaning you need more and more alcohol to achieve the same effect.

Based on many decades of research, Dr Sinclair developed an approach to addiction that tackles this root cause of the problem, using what is known as a ‘short-acting opioid inhibitor’. Opioids mimic the effects of endorphins, so an opioid inhibitor lessens the pleasurable feelings you gain from drink or drug, meaning the urge to consume to excess is taken away. The Sinclair Method (TSM) medication is short-acting which means that the activity levels of the neurotransmitters return to normal, avoiding any potential for depression.

When you embark on the Sinclair Method (TSM), a pill is prescribed that is to be taken an hour before the first drink is consumed. Gradually, patients find their desire to drink to excess lessens and they find that they can then maintain what is considered ‘normal’ drinking levels. At the same time, the body naturally detoxifies, meaning you do not have to go through the sudden withdrawal process that occurs when you stop drinking completely.

Our medical director, Dr Joshua Berkowitz has been offering the Sinclair Method (TSM) to patients at our central London clinic since he first became friends with Dr David Sinclair and discovered the possibilities of his unique therapy.

"An alcoholic or someone who drinks excessively is not enjoying the drink they are currently consuming. They are thinking about the next drink and the one after that. And, if the window to buy that drink or the means to purchase that drink is limited, then it directly affects their behaviour."

"By following the Sinclair Method, you can enjoy the drink you have and it doesn’t change the taste, the results or the pleasure you get from it, but the gratification is not so high or intense that your behaviour is affected."

The Sinclair Method still relies on the personal commitment of the patient to affect this change and so, over the many years he has been offering the Sinclair Method (TSM), Dr Berkowitz has modified his treatment protocols to ensure the best chance of success.

Patients who undertake the Sinclair Method at Control Clinics, first have to detoxify completely following our in-clinic detoxification programme. The patient has the mental clarity and fitness to embark on stage one of the treatment: during the first ten days, the patient is required to have at least one drink a day, taking the Naltrexone medication an hour in advance. Mind and body are then recalibrated to accept the relationship between the medication on drinking consumption and its effects.

The second stage of our treatment protocol is exactly the same as the Method first introduced by Dr Sinclair. The patient only needs to take the medication when they are planning to consume alcohol.

The aim of the Sinclair Method is to give the individual the key to a new life. During consultation with Dr Berkowitz the individual’s aims are discussed in full and you set your own goals, whether that is to learn to drink responsibly or to eventually stop drinking altogether.