Opiate addiction and CBT - building a fast track to recovery

Opiate addiction is chronic—but treatable. The best opiate addiction treatment lets an abuser come clean and stay like that.

But which treatment is the most natural one? It’s the one that includes cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT. This therapy is fundamental in treating not just addictions but even other mental health problems. And that’s why CBT is a component of all effective opioid addiction treatments.

Many opioid treatment clinics have counselors and therapists giving CBT. Through this therapeutic model, recovering addicts learn new healthy ways to tackle difficult emotions and stressful situations. This therapy changes the way people think and learn—the change corrects their behavior and lets them lead fulfilling, happy lives.

CBT—where addicts can be cured with care

CBT is successful in treating different medical and psychiatric health issues.

Why?

Because this therapy is driven by the primary belief that everyone can make a positive change in the way they live. With this empowered belief, CBT actively modifies the destructive behaviors and patterns found in almost every addict.

CBT empowers patients of substance abuse by:

• Giving them effective yet simple tools for changing their negative mindset
• Boosting their confidence and providing self-determination
• Helping them imagine their future in a very positive way
• Guiding them to develop stronger relationships with their family, friends, and co-workers
• Teaching them different practical ways to avoid having a relapse
• Letting them cultivate sober activities that can replace substance abuse

CBT is used in different therapeutic settings that range from group therapy sessions to individual or family counseling; sometimes this therapeutic model is used in relapse prevention classes, too. Since the therapy focuses on developing positive coping skills, many patients see its outcomes quickly in their everyday lives.

The approach is suitable for those abusers who’ve lost the ability to manage finances, hold down a job, or care for themselves. For such addicts, CBT can become a valuable addition that can rebuild their lives.

CBT and the road to recovery

CBT is regarded as a powerful part of different drug treatment programs. Because CBT alone may not fully help patients meet their recovery targets. That’s why combining CBT with different therapeutic treatments can put a patient’s recovery on the fast track of progress.

Research in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology found that relapse prevention training based on CBT worked well when combined with a medical therapy such as Suboxone treatment. That is, a drug addiction treatment can give optimal results when pharmacotherapy is done with CBT.

Conclusion

Leading opioid treatment centers are taking notice of CBT. That’s why they’re designing comprehensive drug treatment sessions. These programs include a variety of CBT models at every single level of the treatment, right from detox to the aftercare phase.

To date, there’ve been cases where patients have taken CBT alongside other treatments for unlearning addictive behavior. And the success rate is hopeful.