CBT For Addiction Treatment at Purpose Healing Center

Break the Cycle of Negative Thoughts: CBT for Addiction Treatment at Purpose Healing

Navigating Daily Life Stressors and Relapse Prevention

The skills you learn in CBT can help people in addiction recovery lower their stress. Many people find that stress management supports their recovery and overall mental health. When used for addiction, CBT therapists also focus on how to use skills to prevent relapse.

They can also work with you to overcome slip-ups, relapses, or other struggles you encounter throughout the recovery process.

Increase Sobriety Confidence

Therapists can use CBT techniques with the goal of helping clients improve their confidence and self-esteem. For example, if you have thoughts that make you feel less confident about sobriety, a therapist can help you work through them.

Reducing Symptoms of Co-Occurring Concerns

Many people navigating alcohol or drug abuse often have another mental health condition. If this is true for you, CBT may help you address co-occurring concerns as a part of addiction treatment. For example, CBT can help with:

• Anxiety disorders (e.g., generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety).
• Mood disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorder.
• Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Eating disorders.
• Grief.

 Purpose provides co-occurring disorder treatment. With professionals specializing in diverse mental health concerns and backgrounds, we use a personalized approach with whole-person health and healing in mind.

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What Can You Expect in CBT Sessions for Drug and Alcohol Abuse?

CBT is a collaborative process. Each session might look a little bit different, but here is some of what you might expect.

Intake and Initial Assessment

Your first cognitive behavioral treatment session will involve an intake assessment. Your therapist will ask questions about your recent substance use, personal history, and co-occurring conditions. Then, they may discuss what to expect during your next sessions.

Identifying Your Triggers

One of the things you might do in cognitive behavioral therapy sessions is identify triggers for substance abuse. Once you have identified triggers, your CBT therapist can help you find effective ways to navigate them.

These might include coping strategies, lifestyle changes, and communication or interpersonal skills (e.g., boundary-setting).

Goal Settings and Regular Check-ins

After learning more about you, your therapist will help you set goals. As you move toward the goals you set, you’ll check in with your CBT therapist regularly to discuss your progress. As time goes on, they’ll help you set new goals or adjust treatment goals as needed.

Practice Using Thought Reframe

You and your CBT therapist will work together to identify negative thought patterns. These could be thought patterns you’ve noticed in yourself. Alternatively, they could be thought patterns your therapist notices as you speak during sessions.

Your therapist will guide you in reframing these thoughts and thought patterns. For example, if you say, “I never succeed,” your therapist may help you explore why that’s not true and replace it with a thought that better benefits your recovery.

Behavioral Experiments and Real-Life Skill Application

In CBT, behavioral experiments are real-life tasks that help you challenge maladaptive beliefs or automatic thoughts that do not benefit your recovery. For example, let’s say that someone with alcohol addiction has beliefs such as “I cannot handle stress without drinking.”

A behavioral experiment would be to create an opportunity to challenge that belief. In this case, a therapist might help you create a plan to handle a small, manageable stressor without substances.

During your next session, you might discuss how the experiment went. From there, you’ll work together to keep creating more positive beliefs and thought processes. Assignments like behavioral experiments are an example of how CBT can increase self-confidence.

Comparing CBT Groups vs Individual Therapy Using CBT

CBT for substance abuse can be conducted in a group or individual setting. Some of what to expect in CBT can vary based on whether you work with a therapist one-on-one or participate in group CBT sessions.

CBT groups for addiction can provide:

• A chance to learn from peers. You’ll gain exposure to new points of view and may hear helpful answers to questions you wouldn’t have thought to ask.
• An opportunity to practice CBT techniques with other group members. This can be more engaging and less intimidating for some.
• A sense of community and social support. Group sessions can help people overcoming substance misuse feel less alone.

Individual CBT sessions offer:

• You’ll set goals and address challenges one-on-one; if there’s something you don’t want to share in a group, you can be confident that it won’t leave the room.
• Focused attention. Your CBT therapist’s attention will be concentrated on your case, rather than accommodating the needs of an entire group. They’ll be able to get to know you better than they might in a group setting.
• Your CBT therapist can tailor sessions to fit your needs and provide more individualized guidance.

Purpose uses a combination of groups, including CBT groups, and individual therapy sessions to promote the most positive outcomes.