Evidence-Based Treatment for Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Southern California Addiction Treatment Programs

Get Real Recovery offers full continuum of care and four levels of outpatient services. We understand that every client and family is different.

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WHAT IS EVIDENCE-BASED TREATMENT for DRUG and ALCOHOL ADDICTION?

Behavioral approaches help engage people in drug abuse treatment, provide incentives for them to remain abstinent, modify their attitudes and behaviors related to drug abuse, and increase their life skills to handle stressful circumstances and environmental cues that may trigger intense craving for drugs and prompt another cycle of compulsive abuse. Below are a number of evidence-based treatment behavioral therapies have shown to be effective in addressing substance abuse (effectiveness with particular drugs of abuse are denoted in parentheses).

COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (CBT)

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was developed as a method to prevent relapse when treating problem drinking, and later it was adapted for cocaine-addicted individuals. These strategies are based on the theory that in the development of maladaptive behavioral patterns like substance abuse, learning processes play a critical role.

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CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT
INTERVENTIONS / MOTIVATIONAL INCENTIVES

Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of treatment approaches using contingency management (CM) principles, which involve giving patients tangible rewards to reinforce positive behaviors such as abstinence.

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COMMUNITY REINFORCEMENT APPROACH PLUS VOUCHERS

Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) Plus Vouchers is an intensive 24-week outpatient therapy for treating people addicted to cocaine and alcohol. It uses a range of recreational, familial, social, and vocational reinforcers, along with material incentives, to make a non-drug- using lifestyle more rewarding than substance use.

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MOTIVATIONAL ENHANCEMENT THERAPY

Another evidenced-base treatment is Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) which is a counseling approach that helps individuals resolve their ambivalence about engaging in treatment and stopping their drug use.

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THE MATRIX MODEL

The Matrix Model provides a framework for engaging stimulant (e.g., methamphetamine and cocaine) abusers in treatment and helping them achieve abstinence. Patients learn about issues critical to addiction and relapse, receive direction and support from a trained therapist, and become familiar with self-help programs. Patients are monitored for drug use through urine testing in this evidenced-based treatment therapy.

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12-STEP FACILITATION THERAPY

Twelve-step facilitation therapy is an active engagement strategy designed to increase the likelihood of a substance abuser becoming affiliated with and actively involved in 12-step self-help groups, thereby promoting abstinence through this evidence-based treatment.

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FAMILY BEHAVIOR THERAPY

Family Behavior Therapy (FBT), which has demonstrated positive results in both adults and adolescents, is aimed at addressing not only substance use problems but other co-occurring problems as well, such as conduct disorders, child mistreatment, depression, family conflict, and unemployment. FBT combines behavioral contracting with contingency management.

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EMDR: Eye Movement
Desensitization and Reprocessing

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a fairly new, nontraditional type of psychotherapy. It’s growing in popularity, particularly for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although most research into EMDR has examined its use in people with PTSD, EMDR is sometimes used experimentally to treat many other psychological problems.

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