How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Helps with Addiction Recovery
The process of recovery for an addict can be a very complicated process. Thankfully, the use cognitive behavioral therapy has begun to rise and with it, an increase in long-term sobriety. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help with addiction recovery through many ways.
What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (or CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that puts an emphasis on the importance of thinking before acting in the addicts’ life. According to the NIDA, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy began as a way to prevent a relapse in alcoholics, but grew to adapt for drugs as well and were strategies based on the idea that learning processes play a vital role in the evolvement of maladaptive behaviors.
Individuals who participated in this program would be taught how to identify and correct the compulsion to use by learning coping methods to help them in their everyday lives. With these lessons, it becomes easier for the individual to avoid situations and temptations that can lead to a relapse.
A Clearer Understanding
CBT helps recovering addicts identify potential triggers so they can learn how to avoid them.
According to the NCBI, most addicts are people who have come to believe that the substances have a more positive effect on their lives for the immediate satisfaction and disregard the negative consequences that occur during the course of their addiction.
Cognitive behavioral therapy was created to help professionals better understand why a person first chooses to use drugs or alcohol and what drives the compulsion to fuel the addiction. It is not so much about the physical dependence on the substances used, but more about the constant needs that make it mentally difficult to quit.
Without the strategies practiced by CBT, a relapse is far more likely but with it, patients can learn to replace their addictive tendencies with a better and healthier alternative.
The Key Components
When a patient enters into CBT, they will be introduced to the two main components of the program: functional analysis and skills training.
During a functional analysis, the therapist and patient will work to find out why the patient began to use drugs to begin with to help the patient understand the behaviors and choices to avoid in order, reducing the risk of a relapse.
It can also help to identify any potential triggers and situations so that he or she know what to avoid when they are back to their lives.
Skills training is the next step in the process that tells patients new, healthier habits to replace the older, more destructive ones. When the patient is back out into the world, they will be well equipped to remain sober. With these skills, the likelihood of a relapse is considerably reduced.
CBT is a short-term program that is not a never-ending process, but rather a tool that the patient can use to become sober. Because of this, CBT has been shown to be very effective for an alternative treatment method.
CBT is also very structured, as it has a specific agenda and concept that is used each session. In short, CBT is a way for the patient to tell their therapists their long-term goals and the therapist uses this information to help them obtain it.
If you or a loved one is suffering from a substance addiction and needs help, call 888-646-0635Who Answers? to speak with a caring specialist that can assist you.
Some individuals truly need inpatient care for one reason or another, but since these programs are generally more expensive than outpatient centers, they sometimes do not attend the programs they require. In actuality, there are inpatient and residential treatment programs that do provide low-cost and even free care to patients who need it. How Many….
For those suffering from alcohol addiction, 12 step alcohol rehab centers can help to rebuild faith and trust in one’s self, heal the spirit and providing the right level of treatment and counseling to ensure a recovery from addiction. The 12-step program is one of the oldest forms of alcohol treatment, coined by Alcoholic’s Anonymous….
Of all the known addictive substances, alcohol remains the most accepted in terms of the place it holds within American society’s customs and norms. For many struggling with alcohol abuse problems, what started out as a casual, commonplace indulgence morphed into an out-of-control behavior that slowly took over their lives. The type of help available….
Although some rehabs are religious, some of them are not. Many of the religious rehabs clearly advertise their religious affiliation in their name or the mission statements. These rehabs offer a clear religious connotation. There are however non-denominational rehabs do exist as do those with no religious affiliation at all. According to the National Institute….
Excessive drinking can lead to serious damage to the body including many unforeseen neurological and memory loss problems. Inpatient alcohol rehab centers provide treatment for many of the consequential damages caused by alcohol addiction, but in some cases, the damage created by long term alcoholism cannot be turned around. Permanent problems such as alcoholic dementia….
Though many states have considered or already have legalized marijuana, republicans, democrats, the President and drug treatment professionals still have mixed feelings as to the true dangers of marijuana use. The battle against drugs, the messages that have been spread for many years to “Say no to drugs” and the legal issues that have derived….
Free inpatient drug rehab centers do exist. As they are necessary to many people who do not have the money to enter expensive rehab centers, free inpatient centers are an important resource for recovery. Why Choose Inpatient Drug Rehab? Inpatient drug rehab is often essential for many patients’ recoveries. While outpatient centers provide most of the same….
Overall, it’s up to the addict to decide on when or if he or she will make a commitment to his or her own recovery but there are some steps that loved ones can do to encourage the process. One of the most important steps that family members and friends of the addict should take is to….
Being in the military is no easy task. The men and women who enlist do so freely and put their lives on the line to protect the rest of us. But more than that, these men and women often bring home more than just battle scars. Too many of the nation’s veterans are coming home….
Addiction is more than an individual problem. It has repercussions across a broad range of family dynamics with health and social implications that have reached epidemic proportions. According to the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health,” In 2013, an estimated 24.6 million Americans aged 12 or older were current (past month) illicit drug….
Calls to numbers on a specific treatment center listing will be routed to that treatment center. Calls to any general helpline will be answered or returned by one of the treatment providers listed, each of which is a paid advertiser.
By calling the helpline you agree to the terms of use. We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. There is no obligation to enter treatment.