What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapy approach that focuses on changing people’s negative thought patterns and behaviors to achieve a goal. The person undergoing CBT will work with a therapist to recognize distorted thinking and try to change them into more productive thoughts that can, in turn, change their behavior for the better and help break harmful habits.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective approach to depression, anxiety, eating disorders, sleep disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and substance abuse disorders. It is often implemented in mental health facilities and substance abuse treatment centers.

Negative Thoughts in Addiction

Frequent negative thoughts can be detrimental to a person’s physical and mental well-being. While addiction does involve a physical dependence on drugs or alcohol, it is often tied to or a result of a person’s thoughts. Many people who develop substance abuse disorders also struggle with low self-esteem. As a result, they may use drugs or alcohol to try to block out negative thoughts about themselves or come to rely on these substances to change their behaviors in social settings.

Beyond self-esteem, there are also many addicts who have co-occurring mental health disorders. Their negative thinking can perpetuate their depression or anxiety and result in self-destructive behaviors like substance abuse that act as unhealthy coping mechanisms. The continuation of these thoughts can lead to the downward spiral that is addiction and make it hard for the individual to stop without changing their thought patterns first. This is where cognitive behavioral therapy for addiction can step in.

The Benefits of CBT

Whether utilized on its own or in collaboration with another program, cognitive behavioral therapy is an extremely helpful tool that a therapist can use. Because one of the pinnacles of CBT is challenging thoughts, it is an effective way to confront negative thinking patterns that keep a person trapped in the cycle of addiction.

Other benefits of a CBT program include:

• Helping to cope with grief or loss
• Learning ways to manage emotions
• Gaining techniques to cope with stress
• Resolving relationship conflicts
• Developing communication skills
• Possibly preventing a relapse
• Overcoming emotional trauma that influences addiction

Banyan’s Massachusetts rehab center is proud to offer CBT for addiction recovery. It is a program that effectively helps patients develop skills that allow them to interact with the world around them, as well as their own emotions. Because we offer various form of drug rehab near Boston, our doors are open to people from all walks of life who are looking to recover.

CBT for Addiction at Banyan Mass

Patients at our rehab in Massachusetts will have the opportunity to participate in cognitive behavioral therapy sessions for their substance abuse problems. Working one-on-one with a trained therapist, the patient will complete several CBT sessions. With the therapist's help, the patient will recognize the destructive and negative thoughts contributing to their substance abuse.

With time and practice, they will also learn how to evaluate, adjust, and replace these thoughts with more productive thinking. In terms of CBT for substance abuse specifically, this may mean adjusting negative thoughts about themselves for the better or questioning the validity of their anxiety. Both changes in thinking can help them break the cycle that led them to drug or alcohol use and decrease cravings in recovery.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of many substance abuse therapies we utilize at Banyan Massachusetts to ensure that our patients get a comprehensive approach to treatment. Because substance abuse disorders are so damaging to people’s lives, our programming and therapies are designed to help patients work through these problems. This complete look at addiction gives patients their greatest chance of long-term success.

If you need effective Massachusetts drug addiction help, contact Banyan's Wilmington rehab and speak with an intake specialist today.