The new diagnostic and treatment guidelines for alcohol and drug use disorders recommend that alcohol consumption reduction be a provisional treatment goal in terms of preventing withdrawal from treatment, even if severe alcohol-dependent patients who should choose to stop drinking disagree with abstinence. This recommendation has made it possible to treat alcohol-dependent patients with low motivation for abstinence flexibly, while respecting their intentions without conflicting with them. By considering alcohol consumption reduction as one of the treatment goals for changing drinking behavior, rather than as a resistance to treatment, it is expected that conflicts with patients will be reduced and it will be easier to build the patient-medical staff relationship. It is also useful to understand and practice the essence of motivational interviewing, which is positioned as one of the main psychosocial treatments in the new guidelines, to help patients make better choices regarding treatment goals.
 Author's abstract