When you’re looking for a drug or alcohol rehab program, there are important therapies you should look for. A quality program will use evidence-based therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT for short. Read on to see how experts define cognitive behavioral therapy and learn how it’s successful in helping people get sober and stay sober.
How Do Experts Define Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
Cognition is the mental process of acquiring knowledge through thought, experience, and sense. The point of cognitive behavioral therapy is to help you begin to acknowledge and replace unhealthy thoughts. One of the leading causes of relapse is when negative thoughts arise and turn into negative behaviors.
People base their actions subconsciously of three different steps:
- Trigger
- Behavior
- Reward
Based on specific triggers, different thoughts arise from memories of previous experiences. For example, something can trigger your anger and negative emotions, and you believe drinking or using will give you a reward. The brain believes that this reward will solve your problem. Unfortunately, alcohol and drugs aren’t the solutions. CBT helps you acknowledge the thought before it manifests into an unhealthy behavior.
The great thing about CBT is that it can be used for many other aspects of your life, which will give you more serenity. Many people also struggle with anxiety, depression, and anger, which can also lead to relapse. As you go through treatment, you’ll begin acknowledging other cycles that are negatively impacting your life. Some of this comes from having your anger, fears, or depression triggered by unhealthy thoughts.
Through CBT, you’ll begin to repair relationships with your loved ones as well. Many families have difficulties after a person gets clean due to trust issues and the past. While you’re not going to be able to control your family’s reactions, you’ll have the tools to control your own. As you begin catching negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones, you’ll find that your relationships will heal on their own.
Additional Methods
Aside from psychotherapy, you can implement other holistic care practices to begin healing your mind. For instance, meditation is a practice that’s been used for thousands of years. Most people have so much noise in their mind that they can’t even recognize the negative thoughts when they arise. Additionally, mindfulness practice will make you much more self-aware so you can catch these thoughts and address them.
Ashley Addiction Treatment is here to help you overcome your struggles with alcohol or drugs. Our licensed and qualified staff uses CBT as well as a wide range of other clinical and holistic methods.
Now that you know how to define cognitive behavioral therapy, don’t wait any longer to get the help that you need. Call us today at 866-313-6307 for more information.