Cognitive Behavioural Therapy 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy 

When arriving at private rehab, you will encounter many new forms of treatments and therapies that can help you get on the road to recovery, one of the major forms being cognitive behavioural therapy.

Cognitive behavioural therapy, also known as CBT treatment, is a popular talk therapy. It is used by drug and alcohol rehabs, GPs and therapy offices to treat many conditions including depression, anxiety and a wide range of behavioural addictions. 

You will almost always see this as an integral part of treating drug and alcohol addiction.

Any rehab that we at Action Rehab will recommend is likely to have CBT as part of its addiction treatment due to its effectiveness.

 If you’re totally new to the prospect of cognitive behavioural therapy though, below you can find out what exactly CBT is and why it is so useful when treating alcoholism or drug addiction.

What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?

CBT is a talking-based therapy developed in the 1960s. It is based on the idea that psychological problems occur due to the way that thoughts and feelings are interpreted, not necessarily as they are.

In many situations, people are unable to quickly change their circumstances but they can change how they think and act; however, examining your emotions and feelings is key to achieving this in everyday life.

By identifying negative thoughts that may crop up due to the interpretation that is being driven by negative past experiences, you can change your mindset to something more positive.

CBT is used in rehab settings because it focuses on coping skills. These are important things to learn when trying to achieve long-term recovery for drugs and alcohol.

After getting clean, it is highly likely that you will encounter situations and environments that may have in the past triggered your drinking or drug-taking. CBT can help you better deal with these moments to avoid relapse.

What Happens within a CBT Session in Rehab?

Most CBT sessions will start by planning what you are going to talk about. 

In these sessions you have as much agency as the therapist and talking about agreed topics allows for the therapy to feel more collaborative. While it isn’t easy to expose everything right away, the effectiveness of CBT is only truly present when there is a two way exchange between you and the therapist.

There is typically a real emphasis on goal setting and learning coping techniques for the future. Goals can give you purpose and direction and help motivate you on your recovery journey.

It is likely that you’ll learn breathing techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing to help you lessen stress and work on muscle relaxation.

Becoming calmer and more relaxed is key to learning to cope with potential triggers so that you don’t become overwhelmed. Feeling like you can’t cope may lead you back to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism, rather than leaning on the mental strength you will have built up during CBT therapy.

Keeping a diary, learning something new and cognitive restructuring are all things you may encounter during CBT sessions. 

Can I do CBT Alone?

If you have experience with CBT before, you could remind yourself of some techniques to help you in stressful moments, the whole goal of CBT in the first place is to carry these techniques into your everyday life to cope.

So, this can be helpful to do as you are waiting for more thorough treatment at an alcohol or drug rehab. Likewise, it is good to keep up as a practice during your recovery time once you’ve been discharged from rehab.

To practise CBT, you need to find moments in the day when you can sit down and be comfortable. Get into a peaceful space where you challenge unhelpful thoughts and think about the good points in your day.

You can also write a journal in your own time.

Journaling is helpful as it is an active task. It can help you better identify negative patterns that arise in your emotions and actions that you want to change, rather than suppressing the thoughts, you can allow them to pass through and you have the chance to address them one by one.

Thus, with more awareness, you can begin to make changes that will aid your long-term recovery.

Benefits of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

CBT is widely used as part of addiction therapy due to its many benefits, so what are some of the most prominent ones?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can be Combined with Other Treatments

CBT can be combined with other treatments that you will encounter at drug and alcohol rehab like a detox. 

This will provide you with a personalised treatment plan that aims to assist you in life after rehab too.

CBT can work alongside well-being treatments too, showing a more holistic approach to recovery that boosts your overall mental health. Not to forget that you can work on your CBT alongside regular group support meetings after completing rehab as well.

Mental Health CBT Practice Develops Self-esteem

Self-esteem can be the root cause of addiction. CBT is based on identifying problems and working towards solutions. It helps you lessen that critical voice in your head and replace it with something more positive. A sense of progression helps you believe in your competency, which is integral to becoming more confident.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy works as a Short-term Option

The effectiveness of CBT can show its usefulness early on, in fact there is the potential to see improvements within five to 20 sessions. 

This is very helpful in a rehab setting as you may not be there for an extended time, yet still need to feel the benefits to truly believe that it is going to be something that you can be consistent with after you’re discharged from rehab.

Cognitive therapy is Often Easily accessible

The NHS has made CBT readily available to people that need it.

You can use the NHS IAPT services finder to see services in your local area. Sessions can be done face-to-face or online via programs such as Zoom and Skype plus, there are online resources and self-help books that teach CBT techniques.

Is CBT Effective at Improving Coping Skills?

CBT is helpful to people suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction as it helps them work on their coping skills. 

These are important to contribute to the ultimate goal after recovery, relapse prevention. 

CBT helps you identify negative thought patterns that could lead you back to drugs and alcohol. With coping skills, you will be better equipped at curbing these problems and avoid not slipping back into addiction.

Will CBT Help Me Overcome Drug or Alcohol Addiction?

Talking therapies are crucial within drug and alcohol rehab and recovery to deal with addiction. To effectively treat addiction, you need to deal with both the physical and psychological aspects. 

Treatments such as detox get rid of your physical dependencies, but therapies such as CBT help uncover the real reasons behind the addiction to ensure it won’t happen again.

CBT is useful for treating addiction as it can be structured, with an emphasis on reaching goals and dealing with immediate problems, you’re then able to see a clear progression going forward. This suits the more structured environment of rehab. Plus, it also provides order to what may have been a chaotic time in your life due to addiction.

CBT also works best when combined with other forms of treatment. At private rehab, you can take part in many forms of treatment as part of a comprehensive addiction treatment plan.

By getting to the bottom of the emotional issues behind addiction and changing your negative patterns, you can stop the destructive cycle you find yourself in. 

Therapies like CBT will certainly help you do this, so rest assured that when you need help, it is there through other mechanisms than drugs and alcohol.

Start CBT at Rehab Today

If you are eager to get access to CBT in rehab, contact Action Rehab today. We can give you the support you need and help find the right treatment.

Call us now at 0151 268 6992 or email us at info@action-rehab.com.