Using CBT to Treat Addiction

Using CBT to Treat Addiction
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Introduction
CBT, or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, has been clinically and non-clinically used to address a number of disorders and medical conditions in ailing individuals. The methods that are applied in the administration of CBT therapy are designed not only to solve the problems that the patients are suffering from, but also to help the patients overcome the necessity to be constantly under medication to alleviate pain and suffering resulting from the same disease.
Components and their Uses
There are a number of components of CBT that are extremely essential to the success of the entire therapy. Many of these components are hinged on the effectiveness of the medical practitioner in administering CBT as a mode of therapy. Needless to say, failure to incorporate some or all of these components results in a complete failure of the entire process.
The first, and arguably most vital component, is the focus that CBT pays to the ‘present’. The ‘here and now’ aspect of CBT is essential to addressing many of the challenges that patients needing CBT have (Wolberg, 1989). By treating this component as the most quintessential aspect of CBT, the therapist ensures that the patient does not focus on the past or on the future, but instead focuses fully on the present. It is only by assessing their present state, and the chain of events that was responsible for the present state, that patients needing CBT can determine the root causes of their problems, and develop clear roadmaps towards eliminating such negativities from their lives (Aacap.org, 2014). In this way, the patient does not long to relive past enjoyments, or fantasize on future ‘ecstasies’, but instead solely focuses on improving themselves at the present moment, one day at a time.
Another vital component of CBT is the emphasis on structured sessions that are designed to alleviate patient vulnerabilities to the causes of their medical conditions (Brown, 1993). These sessions are also used to help alleviate the symptoms that accompany the said condition or problem. The importance of structured sessions cannot be overemphasized. This is mainly because developing a clear structure allows recovering individuals using CBT to fasten their recovery process. By following a certain structure, their road to success through the hands of CBT is easier and much faster than in the absence of structure (Garofalo, 1996). Bearing in mind the fact that CBT espouses the need to focus on the present, it is critical that the objects of these focus are aligned to the goals that the therapy is bound o achieve. It is only logical then, that there is no better vehicle upon which to carry this success than through structure.
A third, and equally vital, component of the CBT therapy is the observance of phases (Jerrell & Ridgely, 1995). To guarantee that all patients are fully recovered, CBT follows a strict approach that is hinged on getting patients to experience each phase. These phases, in order, include:
* Assessment
* Re-conceptualization
* Acquisition of Skills
* Consolidation and Application Training of Skills learnt
* Maintenance and Generalization and
* Last but not least Post-Treatment Follow-Ups.
The order in which these phases occur is designed to help a patient from the very dependent stage, say in the case of substance abuse, to them becoming a responsible and alcohol-free member of the society. All these components are used solely for the benefit of the patient, seeing that they are designed to focus on and solve the problems that these...