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Adding Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Substance Abuse Treatment Helps with Depression

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is one of the footholds in substance abuse treatment. Many addiction treatment specialists use this method to help their patients identify adverse behavioral patterns, and create new ones. It is also effective in treating depression. In fact, according to new research, they may be linked. To learn more about the connection between CBT and dual diagnosis treatment, contact Promises Behavioral Health today.

Using CBT and Dual Diagnosis Treatment

A new study has found that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) may alleviate depression among patients in addiction treatment programs. Researchers from the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, California, said that symptoms of depression are common in individuals suffering from substance abuse problems, but that sometimes patients who seek treatment are only treated for their substance abuse and not their depression. If depression goes untreated, patients are more likely to relapse.

Katherine E. Watkins, MD, MSHS, lead the study about CBT and dual diagnosis treatment, which took place at four different inpatient behavioral health facilities in Los Angeles County, California. The study took place very four months from August 2006 to January 2009. The treatment at the centers alternated between usual care for substance abuse and substance abuse treatment plus CBT. The treatment was modeled in the Building Recovery by Improving Goals, Habits, and Thoughts (BRIGHT) study. The patients were given 16 two-hour BRIGHT sessions over eight weeks.

Results of the Study About CBT and Dual Diagnosis Treatment

The study initially involved 1,262 patients; 140 were given both substance abuse treatment and CBT, and 159 received just substance abuse treatment. The patients tended to score in the clinically severe range on a scale of depression symptoms, and nearly half of the patients had suffered from depression over the last 12 months. Within three months of treatment, those receiving both substance abuse treatment and CBT had mild symptoms of depression, compared to moderate symptoms among those receiving only substance abuse treatment.

About 56 percent of those in the combination treatment reported minimal symptoms, while 33.6 percent in the control group reported moderate symptoms. Within six months, 66.9 percent of those in the combination group had minimal symptoms, compared to 43.8 percent in the control group. Those who left residential treatment after six months and received both substance abuse treatment and CBT reported fewer days of substance abuse compared to those in the control group.

This study shows that it is possible for them to deliver evidence-based mental health care in substance abuse programs. CBT and dual diagnosis treatment enhances and expands the clinical roles of substance abuse counselors. This is important because of the lack of efficient treatment for depression in substance abusers impedes their recovery and can lead to relapse.

Contact Promises Behavioral Health

At Promises Behavioral Health, we help people who struggle with addiction and mental health disorders recover. With cognitive-behavioral therapy, your substance abuse and depression may be things of the past. However, cognitive-behavioral therapy is not the only part of your treatment.

At Promises Behavioral Health, we use a combination of holistic and evidence-based therapies. Holistic therapies are treatments that treat a person’s mind, body, and soul. Evidence-based therapies, on the other hand, are treatments that addiction treatment specialists, like the ones above, have studied extensively. In other words, they have verifiable proof that these treatments work. A combination of these treatments gives each of our patients the best possible chance at a long-term recovery.

Addiction treatment is not a one-size-fits-all procedure. Every person requires different treatment, so we give each treatment different treatment options. Cognitive-behavioral therapy may be part of your treatment. At Promises Behavioral Health, we offer treatment for a variety of addictions, including:

  • Alcohol addiction
  • Heroin addiction
  • Benzo addiction
  • Opioid addiction
  • Meth addiction

With CBT and dual diagnosis treatment, addiction, and mental illness can be a thing of the past. To learn more, contact Promises Behavioral Health at 844.875.5609.

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