“Treatment” is a vague term that can mean different things in different contexts, and different situations may call for different treatment methods. That’s why there are a number of therapies you may participate in during an evidence-based addiction treatment program. At The Blanchard Institute, we believe it’s important to take a holistic, innovative approach to healing drug or alcohol addiction that addresses the whole person. This also includes tried and true therapies, like cognitive behavioral therapy (also known as CBT). It’s well-known and widely practiced in the professional treatment community for a reason. When it comes to addressing addiction and substance use disorders, CBT provides the vital foundation you need to achieve lasting recovery.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Addiction: How It Works
At both our Charlotte and Cornelius, North Carolina locations, our goal is not only to help you heal your addiction for good, but also to educate and empower you during the process so you can stay healthy long-term. As a family-focused clinic, we also want to educate your family members, since we know they can provide key support during your recovery. This includes understanding the evidence-based practices we utilize during treatment, such as cognitive behavioral therapy for addiction. With that said, what is CBT?
CBT is a form of psychological treatment that has been historically effective in addressing a number of struggles, from addiction and eating disorders to anxiety, depression, and severe mental illness. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), research shows that CBT can help significantly improve your functioning and quality of life. It has even helped treat non-psychiatric disorders like irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, migraines, and other chronic pain conditions, according to StatPearls.
Cognitive behavioral therapy was originally developed by Aaron Beck in the 1960s during his work treating patients with depression. Since then, it has been adapted, utilized, and studied for the entire family, including children, teenagers, adults, and couples. Today, CBT is an educational, structured, and goal-oriented evidence-based practice. Hands-on and practical, CBT for alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental health disorders involves modifying specific thinking and behavioral patterns to create positive change in your mood and way of life. When conducted, both you and your therapist collaboratively work together in the CBT process.
The Core Principles of CBT for Substance Use Disorders
We understand what it is, but what does cognitive behavioral therapy for addiction actually look like in practice? Here are some of the basic, core principles of CBT for substance abuse and addiction that you’d experience in outpatient treatment here at The Blanchard Institute:
Identifying and Changing Negative Thought Patterns
One of the key principles of CBT is that your struggles are partially rooted in unhealthy, faulty, or unhelpful ways of thinking, according to the APA. These negative thought patterns may be automatic, shaping your emotions and responses to various situations. They also may be what are called cognitive distortions, meaning your thoughts cause you to make the wrong conclusions. Examples of cognitive distortions include:
- Overgeneralizing
- Discounting positive experiences in conflict with your negative views
- Making assumptions about another’s thoughts or intentions
- Focusing on the worst possible outcomes
- Predicting how something will happen before it actually does
SOURCE: StatPearls
These negative thought patterns affect the way you think, feel, and behave, so the goal is to change these negative patterns into positive ones.
Managing Addiction Triggers
Cognitive behavioral therapy for alcohol abuse and drug addiction emphasizes helping you learn to become your own therapist, so to speak, explains the APA. And part of this looks like learning to identify and manage your addiction triggers. This starts by recognizing the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that lead to substance abuse in your life. With this comes greater self-awareness, equipping you to learn how to deal with triggers in the moment instead of falling back into old addictive patterns.
Developing Healthier Coping Strategies
Just as it’s important to change negative thoughts within CBT, it’s also important to change negative behaviors, too. Rather than returning to substances when stressed or uncomfortable, CBT helps to develop healthier coping strategies for challenging situations and makes it easier to identify future cognitive distortions. This can range from relaxation techniques like mindfulness meditation to problem-solving skills in order to manage cravings and avoid triggering scenarios.
Examples of CBT Exercises in Real Life
Within evidence-based addiction treatment, CBT is usually personalized and tailored to the specific needs of the individual, and that’s how we approach it here in outpatient treatment at The Blanchard Institute. That means CBT may look different in practice for you compared to someone else. Here are a few examples of what CBT exercises can actually look like in addiction and mental health treatment:
- Replacing negative automatic thoughts that typically occur with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
- Reintroducing positive activities and behaviors that bring pleasure if you’re struggling with chronic depression
- Gaining a better understanding of the behavior and motivation of others
- Developing a greater sense of confidence in your abilities to fight back against negative thinking patterns
- Using role playing to prepare for potentially problematic interactions with others
- Facing your fears instead of avoiding them
SOURCES: APA and StatPearls
How CBT in Recovery Helps You Regain Control of Your Life and Prevent Relapse
What makes cognitive behavioral therapy for addiction treatment so impactful is that it empowers you to regain control and agency over your life. With CBT in Recovery, you can learn to stay the course in your sobriety long after treatment ends. Instead of running to substances to cope, CBT teaches you to utilize healthy, transferrable problem-solving skills to cope with future negative thoughts, obstacles, and circumstances. You also find out how to calm yourself and relax your mind and body when stress and other triggers in recovery arise, keeping you resilient and focused. And because you’ve identified and worked to change negative thinking patterns, you now have hope, self-confidence, and motivation to navigate your future with a more purposeful mindset.
At the same time, CBT in recovery helps you keep relapse triggers at bay. According to a study by Addiction & Health, cognitive behavioral therapy has been proven effective at reducing the likelihood of relapse among drug users. The study found CBT helped patients take an active role in facing challenges instead of using immature, maladaptive coping mechanisms. And even better, patients who participated in CBT experienced:
- Personal and internal control over themselves
- Increased feelings of happiness and joy
- Less anger and aggression
- Increased courage and self-acceptance
- Reduced emotion-oriented behaviors
CBT at The Blanchard Institute
Cognitive behavioral therapy for addiction is just the beginning of what we do here at The Blanchard Institute. Our evidence-based outpatient programs provide comprehensive treatment with a family-focused, community feel. We partner with you at every stage of care, from our supportive detox and partial hospitalization programs (PHP) to our intensive outpatient (IOP) and gender-specific recovery residences.
Knowing the importance of a strong support network for staying sober for the long haul, we work hard to ensure you stay connected to The Blanchard Institute community throughout your recovery. Long after your formal treatment ends. Or as we like to say, once you’re with Blanchard, you’re always with Blanchard.
What sets The Blanchard Institute apart is its unique approach, our integrated medical services, nutritional services, treatment for co-occurring mental health issues, biosound therapy, and DWI services. But at the root of all we do are foundational treatment methods like cognitive behavioral therapy.
Our programs are available in two convenient locations. Choose from:
Common Misconceptions About CBT
Treatment centers and therapists have been practicing CBT for addiction and mental health disorders for a long time now. Because of this, CBT has a strong track record of success. But inevitably, this has also allowed plenty of time for misconceptions about CBT to arise, too.
According to the journal Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, one of the most common misconceptions about CBT is that it doesn’t work if you’re struggling with complex trauma. Because addiction is often rooted in trauma, this would certainly be a concern if true. However, multiple studies have proven otherwise. Treatment guidelines within the professional community continue to consistently recommend trauma-focused treatments like CBT, no matter the complexity of your trauma.
Alternatively, some believe that CBT is only reserved for people with severe mental health issues. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. CBT works for all kinds of mental health challenges, from mild to severe, as well as addiction. For this reason, it continues to be a foundational therapy used in tandem with other evidence-based practices in a holistic treatment plan.
CBT Within a Holistic Addiction Treatment Approach
CBT as a stand-alone treatment method can help you change negative thinking and behaviors and learn to navigate life substance-free. Yet it often works even better as complementary therapy alongside other treatment methods. That’s why many addiction and mental health clinics will integrate CBT into other evidence-based practices, including:
- Medication-assisted treatment (MAT)
- Group therapy
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
- Motivational interviewing
When these therapies are utilized together as a part of an individualized recovery plan, you’re in the best position to break free from addiction for good. And this is the kind of holistic, family-centered approach we take at The Blanchard Institute. By using evidence-based practices — including CBT — that address your underlying trauma and empower you to achieve lasting sobriety, we can help you live a more connected and fulfilled life. Contact us today to learn more about our comprehensive, personalized outpatient addiction treatment programs in Cornelius (Lake Norman) and Charlotte, North Carolina.