There are a number of behavioral therapies that have been proven to be effective for heroin addiction treatment. Call 800-442-6158 Who Answers? now to find a rehab center where you can begin your recovery from substance abuse and start the journey toward a better life.
Heroin Addiction and Its Treatment
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “A variety of effective treatments are available for heroin addiction, including both behavioral and pharmacological (medications).” Often, when these two treatment types are used together, patients can achieve the best results for their eventual recoveries.
It can be extremely difficult for someone to overcome heroin addiction, but it is possible with the help of a well-rounded treatment program. Some of the best behavioral therapies for heroin addiction are listed below, and more than one of these can often be utilized during a single treatment program.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Behavioral therapy cultivates positive life skills.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (or CBT) is a treatment modality that helps patients change the way they perceive their substance abuse (NIDA). It has proven to be very effective in the past for many different individuals and is often the staple of therapeutic treatment for addiction. In CBT, patients learn how to
- View their addiction differently and in a healthier way
- Recognize and avoid their triggers
- Cope with cravings and stress
- Anticipate likely problems by playing out scenarios in treatment
- Exploring both the positive and negative aspects of continued substance abuse
- Cultivate positive life skills that lead to a stronger recovery
Contingency Management
Contingency management is another type of behavioral therapy that is often utilized in outpatient treatment to ensure that patients are staying abstinent and practicing other beneficial behaviors. In addition, contingency management helps to create changes to the reward pathway of the brain and allow individuals to learn again to anticipate rewards that do not have anything to do with drug abuse.
Patients take a drug test at the beginning of their session, and if the test is negative, they receive a prize. This can be either a voucher for some item or activity that is contingent with a drug-free lifestyle (movie tickets, food, etc.) or a draw for a raffle where patients have a chance to win a prize (usually money).
The more negative tests a patient provides, the better their vouchers get or the more draws they get. This has been found to create tremendous change in heroin abusers and other addicts as well as to minimize one’s potential for relapse (NIDA).
12-Step Facilitation Therapy
12-step facilitation therapy is a type of treatment that uses the 12-step method and helps prepare patients to eventually become a member of a mutual-help group. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Narcotics Anonymous is a beneficial group for many heroin addicts for which 12-step facilitation therapy can help them prepare.
The program focuses on three key elements of the 12-step method: acceptance, surrender, and active involvement in meetings and activities related to the program (NIDA). This type of therapy also helps patients understand the 12-step process and clears up some of the myths about this recovery program. It can be very helpful to a heroin addict to become a member of a 12-step program after going through this type of therapy.
How Often Do You Find Yourself Saying: “I Wish I Knew How to Recover from Heroin Addiction”?
Family Behavioral Therapy
Family behavioral therapy is extremely helpful to many individuals but especially to adolescents. Having the support of one’s parents during heroin addiction treatment can increase an adolescent’s chances for a strong recovery by a considerable amount. In addition, it is also helpful to those whose loved ones have been hurt by their substance abuse and to the families who require a professional’s help in order to create positive changes.
In family behavioral therapy, patients can learn about how their loved ones truly feel about their substance abuse, and family members of addicts can learn to care for themselves as well as their loved one. This program can also teach family members how to put an end to any enabling behavior, which only makes the individual’s addiction syndrome worse.
Professional Rehab for Heroin Addiction
Heroin addicts almost always require professional treatment to recover, and behavioral therapy is a large component of this. Let us help you find a treatment program that offers the therapies that will most benefit you and allow you to make a positive change in your life. Call 800-442-6158 Who Answers? now.
