Woman therapist working behavioral therapy for drug treatment with woman patient.Substance abuse is a common problem among millions of people across the United States. It’s the precursor to addiction, but people still have control over their actions. Stopping substance abuse in its tracks is the best way to avoid addiction. Behavioral therapy can help.

What Is Behavioral Therapy?

Multiple types of therapies involve looking into behaviors. In fact, behavioral therapy is any program that attempts to modify behaviors or attitudes. The goal is to replace these negative aspects with healthy ones to prevent relapse.

Removing negative behaviors usually manages triggers that promote drug use. These triggers cause people to relapse after completing drug rehab. This result is why behavioral therapy is so important during the rehab process.

Once people finish rehab, it’s best for them to continue receiving treatment through an aftercare program. Most of the time, these programs continue counseling with behavioral therapy. This therapy involves both one-on-one and group sessions. The groups may include other people with addiction or family members.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a method that a psychiatrist designed to prevent relapse. In fact, he developed behavioral therapy with alcoholics in mind. Since then, however, doctors have adapted CBT to combat other drug addictions.

CBT predicts problem areas and enhances people’s self-control to deal with those problems. In general, they develop coping strategies that work for them. Many therapists use a one-on-one approach with CBT. This method makes it easier to develop a custom plan of action for each individual.

Research shows that people who take part in CBT are less likely to relapse after treatment. While it can take a long time for doctors to make progress with CBT, it’s worth it in the end. The actual time that it takes for CBT to start working, however, depends on the person being treated. Some people open up faster than others, which allows therapists to get to the root problem more quickly.

Family Therapy

Another important behavioral therapy type is family behavioral therapy (FBT). Research shows that FBT is effective for both youths and adults. As the name suggests, it involves the patient and at least one other family member.

From engaging with family members, therapists can learn more about the family dynamic. In some cases, it’s possible to determine if their roles contribute to substance abuse and offer coping skills to change roles. FBT plays an important part in outpatient and inpatient drug rehab.

Steps to Recovery Can Help You Fight Addiction

You don’t have to let addiction rule your life, and Steps to Recovery has the experience to help. We place a major focus on our outpatient rehab programs to allow our clients to continue their lives outside of rehab. Some of the programs and subjects that we cover include:

Don’t let yourself or a loved one suffer as a result of addiction. Get the help you need at a place that has the answers–Steps to Recovery. Call 267.719.8528.