OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the changes resulting from alcoholism treatment received from a programme specialising in the care of alcoholics. METHODS: Evaluative, descriptive study with a quantitative and cross-sectional approach. e data analysis was performed using SPSS 20.0 with univariate analysis applied for the description of socioeconomic and clinical variables and Escala de Mudança Percebida [Perceived Change Scale] (EMP-patient) item scores, and bivariate analysis to test the association between the nal scale score and the socioeconomic and clinical variables. RESULTS: e sample was predominantly male (81%) with an in-service treatment time greater than four years (45.2%) and an abstinence period between zero and four weeks (35.7%). Regarding the perception of changes, in general, 83.3% of the alcoholic patients declared themselves to be better than before treatment, whereas the perception of worsening was only detected in the sexuality (26.8%) and sleep (16.7%) items. No signi cant relationship was found between the variables analysed. CONCLUSION: e study showed that, in general, the patients perceived themselves as better a er receiving treatment; moreover, the EMP is a sensitive measure to evaluate treatment outcomes because it indicates the positive and negative e ects of treatment on the patients' lives.