Results of CBT and Addiction

by Mary
(Charleston, SC.)

What is the result of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) when it comes to treating an addict?

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“Unlike other forms of therapy, this type builds around the concept that a person’s behaviors are directly linked to their thoughts and not other forces, like life situations or relationships. Cognitive behavior therapy can be empowering to people with drug and alcohol addictions because it allows the power for change to rest within the patient, rather than things they cannot control.

Therapists who specialize in cognitive behavior therapy can guide patients toward understanding and recognizing the circumstances that could trigger the use of drugs or alcohol, and teach new ways to cope with the situations that cause drug abuse. Avoidance is also a key characteristic of cognitive behavior therapy, with the goal of teaching patients ways to avoid stressors that make a resurgence of drug or alcohol use likely.

While cognitive behavioral therapy has been tested across a range of drug addictions, it is typically not suggested for patients with psychotic disorders, who are not medically sound or who have bipolar disorder.

Because cognitive behavioral therapy can be personalized, performed within a relatively short time span, and practiced by the patient long after sessions have concluded, it remains one of the most widely evaluated and used forms for drug and alcohol addiction strategies.”

This information is an excerpt from the drug addiction referral site: Drug Addiction Treatment. 


I work with CBT techniques for all addictive behaviors and I find clients not only highly motivated to change, but the techniques can also provide lasting effects.


Bev