For three decades, professionals and researchers in the alcoholism treatment field have been considering the appropriateness of controlled drinking (CD) strategies. Despite the current emphasis on a treatment-matching model, the use of CD as a treatment approach has been highly controversial, and professionals may be disinclined to use CD as a treatment option. The article reviews CD from an ethical perspective and suggests a model that may clarify decisionmaking concerning use of CD strategies. The cases presented in this article do not include all of the potential ethical dilemmas that substance abuse professionals may encounter when using CD as a treatment strategy. For example, issues of justice or the allocation of resources and services may conflict with the client's autonomy. Specifically, agencies that adhere to the disease concept may offer services only to those clients who comply with an abstinence goal. When working for such an agency, counselors may have to choose between adhering to agency philosophy or respecting a client's choice for CD. Note, references