Can Behavioral Therapy Be Used to Treat Addiction in Massachusetts?

When it comes to treating addiction in Massachusetts, there are several different options available today. Of course, the appropriate and most effective treatment depends on the individual. Because addiction is both a behavior and a disease, behavioral therapies are often used with other treatment modalities to help people overcome addiction. 

In Massachusetts, several drug treatment centers offer what is known as dual diagnosis treatment. This is an addiction treatment path in Massachusetts that includes addiction treatment alongside mental health services, including therapy, medication-assisted treatment, psychiatry services, and more. Some people may even attend group therapy sessions or support groups to help with their behavioral therapy. 

What Is Behavioral Therapy?

Several different types of behavioral therapies are practiced today, most of which are evidence-based and can offer plenty of help with addiction recovery and substance abuse treatment. Behavioral therapy is an addiction treatment focused on helping people change negative behaviors and self-destructive attitudes. 

This type of addiction therapy works because it defines a different treatment based on each individual and their unique needs. It also helps keep people engaged in their addiction treatment and recovery while facilitating positive changes in behavior and attitude alike. It encourages people to investigate and evaluate their thoughts and behaviors and promotes the development of new ways of thinking. 

How Does It Work?

Depending on the type of behavioral therapy being practiced, the exact process will be a bit different. The most common types of therapies used in modern drug treatment centers include: 

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: this type of therapy helps address problematic behaviors and thoughts to assist in overcoming addiction. 
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy: this is a unique talk therapy for those who experience strong emotions, and who may be using drugs or alcohol to dull them in this instance. 
• Contingency Management: this is a therapeutic method that uses positive reinforcement to encourage people to change their behaviors, such as extra time with family for the completion of goals in a rehab program. 
• Family Behavior Therapy: the entire family will be engaged in critical thinking and education about their thoughts and behaviors, including how those may have impacted the addicted individual so that everyone can heal and form healthier relationships. 
• Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy: for those who struggle with unhealthy, self-defeating thoughts, this type of therapy proves to be quite effective. People will be challenged to consider the validity of these thoughts and challenge them by replacing them with healthy ones.
• 12-Step Facilitation Therapy: this is more about actively engaging in a 12-step program, which allows you to completely redirect all your thoughts and behaviors into focusing on the program. 

Almost all of these involve a lot of talk therapy and have an educational component designed to help people not only recognize their current thoughts and behaviors, but to identify changes that need to be made to those behaviors, as well as to their actions, to improve their lives, and in this case, beat their addiction. 

The Benefits of Behavioral Therapy 

In addition to helping people change their thoughts, attitudes, and actions, behavioral therapy in addiction treatment offers several other benefits. Essentially, its focus is to help people think more critically and be more self-aware regarding their attitudes, behaviors, and decisions. This provides the opportunity to improve life skills and executive functioning abilities. It also helps people modify their negative attitudes and behaviors, which can lead to a more positive mindset, leading to further success in recovery. 

Behavioral therapy gives people the ability to handle stressful life situations more easily. It helps them understand how to identify and avoid triggers and change their minds and mentality to improve their self-awareness and thereby reduce their dependence on drugs or alcohol. 

This type of therapy helps boost self-esteem and positive thinking. It also provides support for anger management and improves communication skills. This all leads to a decreased risk of relapsing over time, which is the ultimate goal of addiction treatment for many. When people are more aware of their behavior and how that behavior impacts the world around them, they will be more accountable for their actions and realize how their addiction may have affected their behaviors and activities in the past. 

The Bottom Line 

Several methods can assist with addiction treatment, regardless of the addiction. Behavioral therapy comes in several forms, and many of them can be useful in helping people get to the root of their addiction issues and figure out where to go from that point to continue on their road to recovery. Meta can deliver what you need if you are looking for a treatment program that incorporates behavioral therapy. Contact us today to get started. 

[author] [author_image timthumb='on']/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/img-ed-480x572.jpg[/author_image]  [author_info]Reviewed by Ed Lepage, Executive Director

Ed Lepage completed the drug and alcohol certificate program at the University of Massachusetts Boston and has been working in the substance abuse dependency field for the past seven years. He has also worked extensively in peer recovery-based programs offering “real-world experience” to those that suffer from substance use dependency. Full Bio [/author_info] [/author]