Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the many methods for treating alcohol and drug addiction in treatment programs.
It is considered to be very effective for changing addicts’ habits and the way the think about themselves and their addiction. Its goal is to help alcohol and drug addicts stop using altogether. This is a rather popular therapy in rehab facilities.
The basic theory behind cognitive behavioral therapy seems simple. A person’s thoughts create their feelings and behaviors. Therefore, in order to change someone’s actions, you begin by changing the way they think. This method helps people with drug and alcohol addictions to stop blaming outside circumstances for their problems.
They realize that they can begin to change their situation just by changing the way they think and feel about it. Old thoughts are written down, analyzed, and replaced with new thoughts. The therapist helps the addict to figure out which ones are likely to lead to relapse and how to avoid that.
In cognitive behavioral therapy, people with drug and alcohol addiction are also taught to recognize high-risk situations that will tempt them to use drugs or drink. Once they know which situations are high-risk, they can avoid them more easily. They are taught new coping skills for living a new lifestyle free from addiction.
The most important parts of cognitive behavior therapy are to teach the addict to change how they think about their addiction, realize what led to the addiction in the first place, and create new skills for handling the same situation when it comes up again.
Cognitive behavioral therapy works best along with an addiction program in a treatment center, though it can be done with a private therapist. It generally lasts about 15 sessions. Like all methods, it works very well for some addicts and not at all for others.
