CBT - Psychological Interventions.

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The main goal of CBT is to change the way an addict thinks about the factors that lea up to addiction initiation, and to change the way they behave when faced with the stimuli that lead to their addiction. CBT, when used to treat addiction, involves specific techniques.

Cognitive Correction: Thought Fixing (Essentially)

• Cognitive Correction involves changing the addicts irrational, erroneous thoughts and replacing them with rational and logical thoughts.

Scenario A: Steve thinks smoking makes him look attractive, which he has thought as a result of a veteran smoker's influence. The therapist will challenge these thoughts by asking him why he thinks they do that, changing his subjective norms.

• An example of this could be when trying to help a Gambling Addict: He may think that he can control and predict the outcome of the slot machines. This illusion of skill helps maintain the addiction as he thinks he is "good" at gambling.
• CBT may help them understand the rules of probability and chance, to make them realise that there is no way to be skilled at something that is completely down to random chance - like gambling - and that they can not exert control over something like that.
• As a part of the technique, they may learn that the results are independent; using behavioural experiments to show support for that.  

Relapse Prevention:  Saying NO!

• Relapse Prevention…