A person’s negative attitude contributes to problems with depression, anxiety, and addiction. For someone with an addiction to drugs and alcohol, negative thinking disrupts all attempts for treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of psychotherapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps professionals and the person living with the addiction, to implement strategies for improving treatment response.
Cognitive behavioral therapy uses incentives to provide positive reinforcement. For example, an individual will receive some type of reward for negative drug testing results. He or she is rewarded for staying sober. The reward could be movie tickets, gym membership, coupons, or other healthy prizes. This type of therapy produces positive thinking and strengthens a person’s determination for recovery.
Another type of cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on relapse prevention. This therapy is used to help users identify high-risk situations, where he or she might have a tendency to participate in addictive behaviors. Therapists and the person with the addiction can develop strategies to avoid relapse.
When a person with drug and alcohol addiction is exposed to people he or she used drugs with, the risk of relapse increases. Places such as bars, a get together at a friend’s house, establishments, or events can all trigger a relapse. The person with the drug and alcohol addiction can identify possible high-risk situations and avoid them.
Cognitive behavioral therapy allows a person with an addiction to understand why they used drugs or alcohol in the first place. This type of therapy can reveal any underlying issues and that led to addiction. Knowing the cause for addiction helps a person to learn how to replace his or her addictive behaviors with healthy choices.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is short-term and concentrates on the patient’s goals, not what the therapist thinks he or she should do. The therapist directs the patient toward achieving his or her goals. The objective of cognitive behavioral therapy is to change a patient’s learned behavior that led him or her to addiction by introducing healthy alternatives.
By understanding why a person developed an addictive behavior, therapy helps him or her to learn new substance-free behaviors. Cognitive behavioral therapy is effective long-term and helps the individual to live a sober life.
Treatment for addiction is the start of a new life. We know how important treatment is. That’s why we’re offering the best in our treatment programs at The Springboard Center. Call us today for information on our residential treatment programs in the Permian Basin: 432-620-0255
