Addictive Behaviors

The profile of patients who attend specific treatment centres is constantly evolving. The figure of the drug addict with a long history of polydrug use, with associated illnesses, without an educational level, without a job, and marginal occupation is no longer a majority.

Our patients have more varied profiles, and often one of the requirements is to offer them fast and efficient care. However, this demand cannot always be offered to them due to their clinical situation or the excess demand for care. In any case, there will be a group of patients in which a brief intervention may be appropriate, and we must be able to offer it to our clients.

investigate a potential problem

brief intervention

Brief interventions can be defined as those practices intended to investigate a potential problem and motivate an individual to start doing something about substance abuse. It is not a substitute for those with a high level of dependency. The ultimate goal is to reduce the harm from continued substance use. The duration is 1 to 40 sessions, with typical therapy between 6 and 20 sessions. The goal is to provide patients with tools to change basic attitudes and manage underlying problems. It differs from long-term therapy in that the focus is on the present, emphasizes the use of therapeutic tools in a shorter time, and focuses on more specific behaviour change rather than large-scale or bigger change 12.

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brief therapies are less expensive

initial treatment

The content of the interventions will vary depending on the type of substance, the severity of the problem and the desired result. Because brief therapies are less expensive, they can be available to more people and tailored to clients’ needs. They can provide immediate care to clients on waiting lists to enter specialized programs as an initial treatment for at-risk users and complement more extensive treatment for dependent persons.

Psychological Intervention In Addictive Behaviours.

Psychological intervention in addictive behaviours must be adjusted, as is done in other disciplines, to the use of techniques and treatments that have demonstrated their usefulness in said field. It starts from the assumption that any psychological intervention does not have to be justified; therefore, there is no reason to apply treatments or techniques to patients that have not been validated. Method: The different types of psychological treatments currently have empirical support and recommended by the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the Society of Clinical Psychology (Division 12 of the American Psychological Association) are reviewed.

treatment of addictive behaviours

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psychological intervention

Some treatments with a brief psychological intervention format recommended by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment are reviewed.

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addictive behaviours

Results: In the treatment of addictive behaviours, different psychological intervention approaches have been used.

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empirical validity

However, only cognitive-behavioural therapies have empirical validity in this area of intervention.

framework of cognitive-behavioural therapy

On the other hand, some interventions in the form of brief therapy can be useful in the treatment. Conclusions: It is concluded that psychological treatment is a core aspect in the treatment of drug addiction, and based on the information currently available, and with few exceptions, the most recommendable psychological interventions in addictive behaviours are within the framework of cognitive-behavioural therapy. However, only cognitive-behavioural therapies have empirical validity in this field of intervention.

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapies

On the other hand, some interventions in the form of brief therapy can be useful in the treatment. Conclusions: It is concluded that psychological treatment is a core aspect in the treatment of drug addiction, and based on the information currently available, and with few exceptions, the most recommendable psychological interventions in addictive behaviours are within the framework of cognitive-behavioural therapy. However, only cognitive-behavioural therapies have empirical validity in this field of intervention. On the other hand, some interventions in the form of brief therapy can be useful in the treatment Conclusions: It is concluded that psychological treatment is a core aspect in the treatment of drug addiction and, based on the information currently available and with few exceptions, the most recommended psychological interventions in addictive behaviours are within the framework of cognitive-behavioural therapy.

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Psychological Treatments And Empirical Evidence

Psychological treatment is a nuclear aspect of drug addiction. The principles of effective treatment proposed by NIDA.Among the recommendations of the American Psychological Association, the treatments with greater validity for treating addictive behaviours belong mainly to a cognitive-behavioural approach. In addition to the effective principles of treatment generally recommended in treating drug addiction, the NIDA also indicates the different scientifically-based psychotherapeutic interventions that should guide the clinician in daily clinical practice.

Prevention Of Relapses

Set of cognitive-behavioural interventions designed by Marlatt and Gordon for the prevention of relapses in alcoholism and which have subsequently been successfully applied to other addictive behaviours. One of the procedures most used by clinicians.

“Matrix” Model. 

 An approach designed for young people addicted to psychostimulants, with varied components, in which behavioural therapies stand out, along with psychoeducational approaches, self-help strategies, and individual and group psychological counselling.

Expressive Supportive Psychotherapy 

Expressive supportive psychotherapy of interest in methadone maintenance treatment, patients presenting mental health problems combined with addictive behaviours. Framed in brief dynamic therapies 7, it analyses the relationship between feelings, behaviour and drugs.

Individualized Advice. 

It brings together a series of psychological and social strategies of a diverse nature that could mostly be registered within the field of behaviour modification, with special emphasis on problems derived from or associated with drug use. It emphasizes establishing short-term goals, developing adequate coping strategies for the problems associated with withdrawal, and guiding the patient towards the most appropriate community services to cover their medical, social, economic, employment, etc. needs.

Motivational Enhancement Therapy. 

A psychological counselling technique that seeks to increase the patient’s motivation to abandon drug use. It seeks to use the patient’s intellectual resources or the elements of her environment that facilitate the desired change towards abstinence.

Behavioural Therapy For Adolescents.

Therapeutic strategy based on behaviour therapy principles such as stimulus control, behaviour modelling, and contingent reinforcement. In this therapeutic approach for adolescents with drug problems, special attention is paid to the mechanisms of social control involving the family or other significant people for the patient in the therapeutic process.

Multidimensional Family Therapy For Adolescents. 

This therapeutic approach is designed for adolescents with drug problems, as in the previous case. However, unlike behavioural therapy for adolescents, it focuses on family relationships since the addictive problem is seen as the product of a network of influences, in which the family network plays a key role.

Multisystem Therapy.

The intensive therapeutic approach is aimed at adolescents with drug problems and marked antisocial behaviour.

Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) Plus  

Multimodal therapy has been one of the approaches that have been best evaluated according to the NIDA and has been used successfully with alcoholics, heroin addicts and cocaine addicts. Vouchers are based on the token economy and are proof of negative urine tests that can be exchanged for various reinforcements. Sometimes it is combined with a Disulfiran prescription.

Reinforcement Therapy In Methadone Maintenance Programs.

 Similar to the previous approach, it focuses on progressively reinforcing abstinence periods in patients on the methadone program.

Day Treatment With Reinforcement.

 Similar to the two previous approaches but applied to homeless addicts. Includes counselling and psychoeducational groups.…

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Cognitive-Behavioural Brief Therapy.

It represents the integration of principles derived from behavioural theory, social learning theory, and cognitive therapy. It supposes the most comprehensive approach to treating the problems derived from the use of substances. It consists of the development of strategies destined to increase the personal control that the client has over himself. The philosophy of the intervention is based on considering the client as a scientist, in the sense that he is encouraged to resort to the scientific method to test his ideas or beliefs empirically. In its application to addictive behaviours, relapse prevention therapy has been the most widely used. It was initially developed to treat drinking problems and later adapted for cocaine addicts. In it, patients are helped to recognize situations in which they are likely to use substances, find ways to avoid them and develop strategies to deal with behavioural patterns and effects of substance use. The antecedents and consequences of substance use behaviour are identified through functional analysis. Patients’ abilities to successfully face risk situations are strengthened and developed, and they are trained in relapse prevention. Analysis of cognitions and beliefs involved in addictive behaviour is included.

Brief Interactional-Strategic Therapy 

In this type of therapy, an attempt is made to identify the client’s strengths and create personal and environmental situations where abstinence can be achieved. The focus is on the patient’s abilities rather than pathology. It stems from the work of Milton Erikson, who coined strategic therapy to describe an approach in which the therapist takes responsibility for finding effective strategies to help patients with panic disorders.

Berg and Miller were the first to use this approach to treat alcoholism. It is not considered a useful approach for all patients, but it is considered a set of techniques that can be used within a treatment package.

It is pointed out that the therapists should direct the patient’s attention to the periods in which he was abstinent and ask him to discuss those periods, making him see that he can maintain himself without consuming as he did in the past. The therapist works closely with the patient to understand the patient’s perspective on his problems, which he considers important (relationships, work, finances, etc.) and helps him understand how substance abuse affects those areas, reinforcing the successes as the patient works through his problems.

These therapies have a constructivist vision of reality; they affirm that it is determined by individual perceptions that are influenced by cultural, sociopolitical and psychological factors. A basic principle of this approach is to affirm that human problems can be understood by applying the principles of the human system. Problems do not exist in a vacuum; they exist because of relationships with one another. The strategic therapist believes a positive change in one part of the system will positively affect the rest.

The basic principles of the approach are as follows:

  1. Focus on competence rather than pathology.
  2. Find a unique solution for each case.
  3. Use exceptions to the problem to open the door to optimism.
  4. Use past successes to build confidence.
  5. Look at the patient as an expert.
  6. Use goals and use trajectories to change.
  7. Share responsibility for change with the client.

Brief Humanistic And Existential Therapies 

Humanistic and existential psychotherapies use various approaches in case conceptualization, therapeutic goals, intervention strategies, and research methodology. They emphasize understanding the human experience and focusing on the client rather than the symptom. Psychological problems (including substance abuse) result from the inability to choose the most appropriate way of life.

Whereas the keywords in this type of approach are acceptance and growth, the important themes of existential therapy are the client’s freedom and responsibility. Humanistic and existential approaches share the belief that people have the capacity and awareness of choice. However, the two schools arrive at this belief through different theories. The humanistic perspective considers human nature with an inherent potential to stay healthy and the capacity to make choices in the interest of oneself and others. The focus of therapy is directed towards personal growth instead of focusing on possible disorders. The therapeutic relationship serves as a vehicle or context in which the process of psychological growth is fostered.

The existentialist perspective is more interested in helping clients find philosophical meaning, to think and act authentically and responsibly. The source of the problems is the concern for loneliness, isolation, despair and death.

Many humanistic and existential approaches (empathy, caring, reflective listening, acceptance) are useful in any therapy as they help establish rapport and commitment to all aspects of the treatment process.…

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Brief Psychodynamic Therapy.

Psychodynamic therapy is one of the four schools of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. Psychodynamic therapy focuses on how unconscious processes manifest in the patient’s behaviour. The goals are awareness and understanding of the past about current behaviour. In its brief form, the approach allows the patient to examine their symptoms and unresolved conflicts and dysfunctional relationships that come from the past and that manifest themselves in the need to abuse substances. The elements that best characterize it are the formalization of an evaluation process and elaboration of a therapeutic contract on establishing a limit for therapy (which is linked to focusing the intervention on a limited focus). These elements could be interpreted as a slight approach to behaviour therapy 3. Expressive Supportive Psychotherapy 7 is a psychodynamic therapy approach tailored to substance abuse. It has been used in heroin-dependent patients, in methadone maintenance and in cocaine-addicted patients in which the relationship between drug use, feelings and behaviours of patients is emphasized.

Brief Family Therapy. 

Substance use disorders do not occur in isolation. For many individuals, interactions with a family of origin and their current family triggered a dynamic for substance use. Interactions with family members can aggravate or perpetuate or help resolve the problem. Family therapy suggests that when the client is exposed to signs of substance abuse, he is strongly influenced by the family and the behaviours of the members of his communication. To understand these factors, the therapist considers various structural factors in the family and how they contribute to substance abuse (power hierarchy, roles, communication, etc.). The effectiveness of using this type of therapy has been proven 22. Brief family therapy is an option that can be used:

  1. When working on a specific problem in the family.
  2. When the goals are focused on a focus of current interactions.
  3. When the family can benefit from teaching and communication to better understand the substance use disorder.

Brief Group Therapy. 

Group therapy is one of the most widely used modalities in treating drug addiction. It is appropriate because it allows patients to observe the progress of their addictive behaviour through themselves and others, and it provides the opportunity to experience personal and group success in a supportive and hopeful atmosphere. In its brief format, evaluating the patients before being included in the group and checking their expectations regarding the therapy is indicated. The duration is from 6 to 12 sessions of 1-1.5 hours, depending on the goals established in the group. One of the most important issues that group therapy offers to addicted patients is what we call group cohesion, which is the attachment that group members have to each other. (including the therapist). The interpersonal relationships that are established between the members of the group are very important in the treatment of addictions. Most patients who suffer from addiction have problems relating to each other and maintaining egalitarian relationships. The new relationships established in the protective environment of group therapy can help each patient improve their self-care and self-esteem and achieve adequate emotional.…

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How To Overcome An Addiction To Behavioral Therapy.

An addiction is a disease that manifests itself in the impossibility of the person to control the consumption of some substance (alcohol, drugs, tobacco, medicines, etc.) Addiction causes a personal imbalance in people, which breaks their lives and can also cause other serious organic and mental pathologies.

However, although it may seem difficult, all addictions can be overcome; research in the science of addiction and the treatment of substance use disorders, whether alcohol, drugs or others, has allowed the development of interventions that help people stop abusing the use of said substances, and resume a productive and healthy life.

Addiction Treatment

Addiction treatment is complex and not easy, but it can be successfully overcome. At CenitPsicología, we can help you overcome this problem since addictions do not have to be a life sentence. You decide, and we support you all the way so that you can overcome your addictions and be you again.

Much research shows that the most effective addiction treatment combines medication with behavioural therapy. According to several studies, this is the best way to help people who suffer from this type of problem, and at CenitPsicología, we can help you with this aspect of behavioural therapy.

What Is Behavioural Therapy To Overcome Addictions? 

Behavioural treatments help the person modify their attitudes and behaviours related to drug use, alcoholism, and tobacco… and increase their abilities to recover their life.

This therapy aims to teach the affected person to handle stressful circumstances and environmental cues that could trigger an intense craving for addiction to these substances and give rise to another cycle of compulsive use.

Behavioural therapies help to avoid this and learn to control such situations in another way. They also help people stay longer in treatment, making it easier for them to be completely successful in recovering their lives.

Group Interventions 

Group therapies are, for many, more effective than individual therapies. Several psychology experts share this idea, such as Judye Hess, a clinical psychologist who works in couples, family, and group therapy in Berkeley, California, or IrvisYalom, author of The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy.

It has been proven that sharing different experiences broadens the range of social tools to overcome a problem since all group members overcome their problems collectively. This causes group therapies to help the person gain greater confidence in others and themselves since they feel accepted in a social circle.

At CenitPsicologia, we work a lot with group activities to overcome this problem, and addiction treatment is very effective. It is a way to feel united in a group and overcome addiction problems in a shared way. This helps people to feel alone in the face of the problem, to create bonds with others and, above all, to overcome their addiction more simply.

Some Benefits Of Group Therapies Are:

  • All the group members are in a situation of equality so that problems can be overcome in a simpler way.
  • Anyone judges no one since everyone is there for a reason, so help and support are shared.
  • Emotional ties are established between the group members, which helps them gain more confidence in themselves and improve their self-esteem and emotional stability.
  • We learn from the problems of others. We all listen to each other and learn from our group mistakes. In this way, addiction treatment becomes easier to handle.
  • We openly communicate our problems to other people; this helps to regain our self-confidence and self-esteem.

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