Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of behavioral therapy that is designed around the goal of helping to instill within patients the types of skills that they require in order to be able to face their most difficult moments with as much grace as possible and to be able to behave in the precise way that they want to in the moment. This requires basic but often unlearned skills like being able to recognizing mood shifts in the moment, and emotional responses linked to different triggers. It takes an in depth and fundamental understanding of one’s self for a person who is suffering with a chemical dependency, and a deep of understanding of one’s own addiction, not to mention the intoxicant, whether illicit drug, prescription drug, or alcohol, at the center of the addiction itself to reach true sobriety and health.
This sort of deep dive into the matter teaches a person who is suffering with an addiction how they came to their struggle with addiction, how they came to this place and time, and just what addiction really means. The way that the person’s specific drug or alcohol changes their state of mind changes the way the person’s unique addiction functions, along with how their individual addiction feeds off of each of the other elements in the life of the addict can be startling to explore at first. It can all be very overwhelming for someone when they are new at the process but it reaps benefits that are not even imaginable when you start the therapy.
It can be pretty intense to learn so much. Cognitive behavioral therapy can take a patient to a real understanding of not only their personal emotional state but also of the chemical makeup and psychological underpinnings of addiction itself. Whether illicit drug, prescription drug, or alcohol, chances are if the patient is in detox, the patient’s body has been battered and bullied by the havoc that the substance has been wreaking.. It can be truly intimidating to stand face to face with one’s own fear and deep of self hatred and trauma, but doing allows the recovering patient to acquire the skills they need to change the way they are vulnerable to cravings and triggers, and how they are affected by them. One of the most important aspects of cognitive behavioral therapy is that it assists recovering addicts in being able to dig down and find compassion within themselves for themselves. This is important because it helps the addict resist the addiction shame and guilt spiral. This provides for not only a higher quality of life, but also it generally works to increase the chances of sustained sobriety in the recovery of any person who is suffering with an addiction to either an illicit drug, prescription drug, or alcohol. This is especially valuable to a rehab patient who has been diagnosed with a dual diagnosis, or co-occurring disorder. A dual diagnosis occurs when a patient who is suffering from an addiction to a drug, illicit or prescription, or to alcohol, also struggles with a comorbidity of one of any number of mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, personality disorder, generalized anxiety disorder or depression. A patient with a co-occurring disorder or dual diagnosis such as the disorders listed above will have a more intricate recovery process ahead of them. In order to reach active recovery and heal from these struggles, a person must treat the two illnesses, the mental illness as well as the drug or alcohol addiction, at the same time. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the few types of recovery treatments used that is able to target both of the dual diagnoses at their core simultaneously.
CBT is created based on a three founding principles.
Concerning behavioral problems usually rear their head because of incorrect, inappropriate, or inaccurate learning, comprehension, practice, or understanding of the rest of the world. - Practice makes perfect, sometimes. Sure, a person can practice an action over and over again in just the right way and go from just so-so to close to perfect in a matter of time, but practice can also make for a lifetime of incorrect or problematic actions and habits. If a patient practices 1+1= 5 long enough, they will solidify the idea in their minds and it will become a habit, or a settled knowledge in their minds. If a patient believes that they are useless and proceed to tell themselves so too many times, or perhaps they hear it from someone else in their lives, they will likely develop the habit of believing that they themselves are indeed useless.
- It is possible to stop doing this. It is possible to heal. You can relearn ways of thinking. You can rewrite the paths in your brain with correct practice, and learn new ways of coping in the world around you with skills that help you stay healthy and sober. Survival skills or coping methods which may have initially been all you could do to survive can become problematic behaviors that need to be altered in the long run.
Finding Help Through 1st Step’s Behavioral Therapy in South Florida
Drug detox and rehab centers in Florida will almost all offer some form of behavioral therapy throughout their treatment programs. The best plans will consider the patients each as individuals when setting them up with an addiction recovery treatment plan. At 1st Step we will look at each person individually to take into consideration unique struggles and individual addiction as we set up therapy and treatment for each patient. This allows each patient to work on any dual diagnosis they are struggling with, and also to as address trauma they may need to process at this time. 1st Step employs a staff of licensed medical clinicians as well as licensed therapists who work with each patient on an individual level. Call us today to learn more.
