Cognitive Behavioral Interventions for Alcohol and Drug Use Disorders: Through the Stage Model and Back Again PMC

Given the importance of experimental contrast type in estimating effect-size magnitude in clinical trials,25,26 we used this design factor as a primary subgroup variable. Studies were included if they targeted adult populations (aged ≥18 years) meeting criteria for AUD or other drug use disorder (ie, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition Revised through Fifth Edition) or problematic use.27 Treatment must have been identified as either cognitive behavioral or relapse prevention. Concomitant treatment with pharmacotherapy for AUD/SUD was required for inclusion. Additional limitations are perhaps more conceptual than statistical, but nevertheless reflect potential challenges to the validity of meta-analytic studies of intervention efficacy.

Word of mouth can be a great way to find a clinic or a therapist that someone you know has personally used. You might try Healthline’s FindCare database to search for therapists in your state. Write down the negative thoughts you might have between therapy sessions cognitive behavioral therapy and how you replaced them with more positive ones. A benefit of CBT is that you can start making changes right away and use these skills for the rest of your life. You can work with your therapist on the techniques that work for you and your unique situation.

Cognitive behavioural models of substance use

Through the use of problem-solving exercises and the development of a repertoire for emotion regulation, the patient can begin to both determine and utilize non-drug use alternatives to distress. Strategies for coping with negative affect, such as using social supports, engaging in pleasurable activities, and exercise can be introduced and rehearsed in the session. The development of pleasurable sober activities is of particular importance given the amount of time and energy that is often taken for substance use activities (i.e., obtaining, using, and feeling the effects of substances). When reducing substance use, patients can be left with a sense of absence where time was dedicated to use, which can serve as an impediment to abstinence. Thus, concurrently increasing pleasant and goal-directed activities while reducing use can be crucial for facilitating initial and maintained abstinence. During assessment and early treatment sessions, case conceptualization requires consideration of the heterogeneity of substance use disorders.

A 2016 study published in the journal Translational Psychiatry made similar discoveries. Researchers at several Swedish universities studied MRI scans before and after CBT. They confirmed that CBT decreases volume and activity in the brain’s temporal lobes — specifically the amygdala. This part of the brain regulates emotional behavior and is also part of the limbic system. “Truthfully, most researchers and therapists in the field actually use CBT to treat any drug addiction, and then they [cater the plan] to fit the client’s needs,” she said.

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Candidate variables were entered in participant (i.e., age, sex, race, primary drug, substance use severity), implementation, (i.e., treatment length, treatment delivery), and methodological (i.e., study risk-of-bias) blocks. Analyses were conducted with Wilson’s (2005) METAREG for Maximum Likelihood regression (ML; SPSS Version 24), and variables with significant regression coefficients were placed into a final predictive model along with residual variance estimates. Missing variable codes for regression covariates were mean imputed, and a predictor was removed from the analysis if imputed values reached 20% of total cases (Pigott, 1994). We conducted sensitivity analyses https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/opioid-addiction-treatment-recovery-is-possible/ throughout data analysis and considered heterogeneity and moderator analyses as two primary methods for examining effect size validity. Trimmed estimates with influential studies removed (Baujat, Mahé, Pignon, & Hill, 2002) were also provided.3 Finally, to test for potential publication bias, the relationship between error and effect size was assessed using rank correlation (Begg & Mazumdar, 1994) and graphical methods (Egger, Smith, Schneider, & Minder, 1997). Here, small sample/small effect studies are assumed to characterize unpublished research, resulting in a significant and negative relationship, thus an asymmetrical funnel plot, when publication bias is present.

• You look at your thoughts, such as thinking about the worst case scenario or either-or thinking, and your therapist helps you reframe those thoughts into something healthier and productive.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a leading behavioral approach for intervention with alcohol or other drug use disorders (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2014).
• Cognitive behavioral therapy is adaptable, making it effective in inpatient and outpatient settings, as well as individual and group counseling environments.

Three and six-month follow-up indicated significant reductions in drinking outcomes, but no significant differences between conditions (PDA at 3 months follow up was 73.3 for OA+SR compared with 71.2 for SR only). As part of cognitive restructuring, expectancies, or beliefs about the consequences of use, are another important target for intervention. It is not uncommon to find that patients maintain a belief that use of a particular substance will help some problematic aspect of their life or given situations. For example, a patient may believe that a family holiday would not be enjoyable without alcohol use. Similar to cognitive restructuring techniques, evaluating evidence for expectancies and designing behavioral experiments can be used to target this issue. In this instance the patient would be encouraged to refrain from drinking at the holiday party and assess the degree to which the event was enjoyable.