Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) works! There have been hundreds of studies, surveys, and reviews showing CBT improves a person's mental well-being. A simple definition of CBT is "talk therapy." You meet with a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist as part of your addiction recovery plan.
The way you think leads to how you feel, and feelings lead us to behave in a certain way. With addiction, your thoughts are focused on getting high. If you do not get high, you start to feel anxious. The anxiety can get so bad you do whatever it takes to get high.
CBT helps you fight this vicious cycle of addiction in the following ways:
Teaches You to Recognize Risk
In recovery, you may feel as if you are on overload mentally and physically. Everything you do, every place you go, and every person you see reminds you of getting high. Triggers can lead to relapse if you do not know how to recognize them and battle them.
CBT teaches you how to recognize risky people, places, and things that make it hard to stay sober. Once you learn to identify triggers, you can avoid them. If you cannot avoid them, CBT will teach you how to cope with them.
Treats Mental Health As Well As Addiction
Mental illness often accompanies addiction. The drugs and alcohol you use may mask your mental health issues. You may even be self-medicating with the use of substances. You no longer must do this.
You must also avoid switching addictions. For example, you may quit drinking alcohol but start focusing on calorie restriction or binging and purging.
CBT uses multiple techniques to help you cope and overcome mental health issues like eating disorders, anxiety, panic, depression, and more. Your therapist will assess your mental health and refer you to a psychiatrist if you both feel medication may help you sustain recovery.
You may find there are underlying mental health issues, like bipolar disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder, that, once treated, can make recovery smoother.
Learning how to cope with symptoms through CBT helps you prevent relapse. When you feel anxious, you can implement relaxation techniques. You can learn to be assertive to help you establish healthy relationships. You can learn to restructure your thinking patterns, so they are realistic.
Treats Physical Problems Too
CBT is used to help people cope with a variety of physical and mental health and addiction issues. Sleeping disorders are a good example. Sleep is one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy, mentally, and physically. Poor sleep only enhances negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Working with a CBT professional, you can learn how to improve sleep hygiene, leading to best sleep practices. During sleep, your body is being repaired from all the wear and tear of the day. From your immune system to brain function, sleep is when you heal.
Other skills taught with CBT include anger management, communication, pain management, post-traumatic stress, relationship, and even irritable bowel.
CBT is based on your lifestyle and your specific needs.
Treatment is Individualized
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is not a one size fits all treatment method. It is different than AA and NA, which offer the same steps for every person in recovery. The 12 step program is not for everyone. CBT compliments other programs, so you do not lack in treatment areas.
Your therapist has many CBT techniques from which they can choose based on your individual needs.
Successive Approximation is a technique that helps you take something that feels overwhelming, and break it down into smaller, more achievable steps. Guided discovery helps you learn to see situations from various perspectives, not just one that may be the most negative and unrealistic.
Exposure therapy can help overcome phobias that create anxiety that may trigger a relapse. Journaling or recording your thoughts and feelings is another excellent way to self-monitor your thoughts and feelings. When you are aware, you can better prepare. Journaling can also help you see how much progress you have made over time.
Set and Reach Goals
Goal-setting is a big part of cognitive behavioral therapy because of many benefit from having direction, as well as being able to reach mini-milestones while headed in that direction.
Long-term and short-term goals are helpful for those in recovery. You must keep your eye on a target, so you are not distracted.
Short-term goals focus on how you will stay sober in the next six months to a year. CBT typically runs for 15 to 20 weeks. Some people need less number of sessions, some more.
The number of sessions you attend will be based on the progress you make in each session and outside of your sessions.
Long-term goals are what will help you stay sober for years to come.
Structured Sessions
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for addiction refers to talk therapy, but this does not mean you and your therapist will hang out for an hour every week and talk about the neighborhood gossip.
CBT is structured and developed, so you are provided the education you need to stay sober. With your therapist, you will identify problems, set goals to overcome those problems, learn skills to overcome obstacles, and assignments to help you practice implementing your new skills.
CBT therapists are teachers, as well as counselors. Further, they will encourage you throughout your journey of recovery. They help you improve your self-esteem so you can realize you have what it takes to succeed.
Finally, Finding the right Cognitive Behavioral Therapist is key to your recovery. Look for a therapist who specializes in CBT and has evidence of their training. They are usually licensed in CBT and attend multiple professional development trainings every year to learn new theories within the field.
You can benefit from the education and experience your CBT therapist has gained, and you do not have to wait for help. Reach out to a CBT therapist today.