Aug 23

Behavioral Therapies for Substance Abuse and Addiction Treatment

Tags: Substance Abuse Behavioral Therapies,Substance Abuse Treatment,Addiction Therapy,Treatment,Matrix Model,Motivational Enhancement Therapy,Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

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There are many forms of Behavioral Therapies that are used in treatment for drug addiction. Listed below are some of the behavioral therapies utilized in treatment programs and the areas they have proven to be effective in.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a method of treatment that was originally developed for preventing relapse for individuals with a drinking problem. CBT later became a form of treatment used for treating people addicted to cocaine. This form of therapy has proven to be effective in treating individuals addicted to alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine and nicotine.

With cognitive behavior therapy the individual learns to identify their negative and problematic thinking and behavior patterns and develop positive and helpful thinking and coping skills to maintain self-control. Coping skills are developed ahead of time so the individual is better prepared for situations that may develop in their future causing a relapse.

Research continues in order to continuously improve drug abuse treatment for long term successful results.

Vouchers Plus Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) is for individuals who abuse cocaine and alcohol. This is an intensive outpatient form of therapy that's used for the treatment of alcohol and cocaine dependency that lasts for 24 weeks. The goals of using the Community Reinforcement Approach are to help the individual maintain their abstinence long enough to learn new helpful life skills that will help them sustain their abstinence and to reduce the individual's consumption of alcohol when their drinking is associated with cocaine use.

The way it works is that the patients attend 1 or 2 individual counseling sessions a week. The counseling sessions are focused on the improvement of family relationships, learning many skills to reduce their drug use, work or career related counseling and helping the individual develop new recreational activities and social networks.

Urine samples are given 2 or 3 times a week and the patient is given vouchers when their samples are clean from cocaine use. These vouchers can be used for merchandise that is consistent with a cocaine free lifestyle.

Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) is a patient-centered counseling approach for initiating changes in the patient's behavior by helping them work through uncertainty when it comes to engaging in treatment and stopping their drug use. Motivational interviewing principles are used to strengthen the patient's motivation and build a plan for change.

The Matrix Model is a form of behavioral therapy that's been found to be effective for individuals who abuse stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamine. The Matrix Model helps patients achieve abstinence from the use of stimulants by educating them about the dangers and seriousness concerning addiction and relapse. A trained therapist helps the patient with direction and support and familiarizes the patient with self-help programs. The patients are monitored for drug use through urine testing. Therapists work closely with their patients teaching and coaching them towards positive behavior changes.

12 Step Facilitation Therapy is designed to help the substance abuser understand the benefits associated with 12 step self-help groups that promote abstinence. This form of therapy is very successful for individuals receiving treatment for alcohol, stimulant and opiate abuse. The individual learns to accept the fact that addiction is a chronic and progressive disease that they have no control of. That it takes much more than willpower to overcome their problem with drugs or alcohol. They realize that their life has become unmanageable and the only alternative they have is abstinence. With the help and support they receive from others going through the same thing, surrendering themselves to their 'Higher Power' and integrating the steps and principles of 12 step self-help the individual is able to maintain abstinence and manage their sobriety.

Behavioral Couples Therapy (BCT) is a form of therapy for drug abusers and their partners. Behavioral Couples Therapy uses a sobriety/abstinence contract and behavioral principles to reinforce abstinence from drugs and alcohol.

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3 Comments

  1. Avatar
    Laura C 12 years ago

    When I was first approached with the idea of going through drug rehabilitation for my addiction, I honestly thought that the only thing that mattered was the detox. Once the drug is gone from my system, why can't I just move on with my life? I really did not understand how absolutely important it was for me to go through behavioral therapy. Behavioral therapy is a vitally essential part about overcoming your addiction because every addiction is as much mental as it is physical. What this means is that your recovery is going to need to be as much mental as it is physical, and so you have to go through the detox as well as the rehabilitation.

    There are a lot of different types of rehabilitation and behavioral therapy that you can go through when you are trying to overcome an addiction. It really depends on what type of addiction you are suffering from because different counseling and different types of therapy are going to have different kinds of results. Cognitive behavioral therapy was a big deal for me when I was overcoming my addiction. I developed a lot of new ways of thinking and new habits when it came to saying no to drugs and improving my life. Now I am clean and sober, completely healthy and happy and its all thanks to the right type of drug treatment to meet my own specific needs. Finding the right treatment for you is going to play an important role in meeting your specific needs.

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    Molly D. 12 years ago

    When I had a drug addiction, it took an intervention from my friends and family members to motivate me to finally overcome it. I went to a drug rehab center and they provided me with a two step recovery, first the detox and then the rehabilitation. I did not really know about rehabilitation prior to this - I really thought that detox was the only thing that I needed to worry about. It turns out that cognitive behavioral therapy, which we called "CBT" was going to be a really essential part of my recovery. Just like the post says, cognitive behavioral therapy can be really beneficial when it comes to treating addiction. It was originally used for alcoholics that were looking to prevent relapse but then its purpose changed over time.

    CBT is used in a wide variety of different types of therapies but it is definitely beneficial in rehab therapies along with other types of counseling and therapy. If you are ready to overcome your addiction to drugs or alcohol then you need to consider the successful long term results that CBT and similar therapies can provide you with. Getting emotional rehabilitation help was essential to my success when quitting my drug addiction, and it can be absolutely essential to your benefit as well. You just have to be as willing as I was to finally get some help and so you can get the ball rolling on your recovery once and for all.

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    Cheers for the elegantly laid out Drug Rehab and Detox Programs by State listing.

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