Counseling and behavioral therapy is the most common type of treatment after detoxification. Depending on the needs of the individual undergoing treatment and therapy can be done one-on-one or with a group.
How Does Behavioral Therapy Work?
This type of drug addiction treatment method works in different ways, which include the following:
- Behavioral therapy focuses on helping individuals remain engaged in the addiction treatment process.
- Gives motivations in the form of incentives for staying drug-free
- Encourages change in behavior and attitude that are helpful to achieving sobriety
- Helps individuals learn how to positively evaluate their attitudes, ideas, thoughts, and beliefs
- Promotes new ways of dealing with old problems
- Provides new means to learn skills which are needed to fight stress and handle triggers
Types of Behavioral Therapies
There are several types of behavioral therapies for drug addiction treatment and each type aims to help individuals recognize and replace self-destructive behaviors related to drug addiction. There are a number of drug addiction treatment centers that use evidence-based behavior therapies in all aspects of addiction treatment. These include:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – The cognitive behavioral therapy is given to an individual with drug addiction to adjust the way he or she feels. This treatment involves modifying behaviors and attitudes related to substance addiction. In most cases, individuals under the cognitive behavioral therapy works with counselors to develop strategies in dealing with high-risk situations.
- 12-Step Facilitation Therapy – This therapy encourages individuals to be involved in a 12-step recovery program where the primary focus is to provide long-term sobriety through peer engagement.
- Contingency Management – The use of positive reinforcements to replace behaviors is very common in this type of behavioral therapy. Following the theory of BF Skinner, if a positive behavior will be repeated in the future if it is being rewarded. For drug addiction, the best example of a reward is a day pass to be with family or more recreational activities.
- Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy – This therapy is best used to help individuals recognize self-destructive thoughts and evaluate these thoughts and replace them with healthier ones. The aim of rational emotive behavioral therapy is to help individuals manage negative emotions that may trigger relapse.
Family Behavior Therapy – This type of behavior therapy is best for treating substance addiction and other coexisting issues within the family. It is always best to include family members in the process of recovery to create an environment that is conducive to abstinence.