Behavioral Therapy for Cocaine Addiction Treatment

Cocaine addiction is a very serious disease that endangers many people every year. Overcoming it can be difficult, but getting the right assistance can help. The only approved cocaine addiction treatments are the many behavioral therapies.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy is the most common behavioral treatment used in recovery and treatment for cocaine. It seeks to help patients identify thoughts and behaviors that lead to cocaine addiction, then slowly change them to eliminate cocaine use now and in the future.

Contingency Management Therapy

This method is sometimes known as motivational incentives. It involves providing real rewards for remaining cocaine free, participating in counseling or other treatment, and meeting recovery goals. By providing rewards, this method seeks to help addicts motivate themselves to continue positive behaviors.

Aversion Therapy

Aversion therapy seeks to change thinking and behaviors that contribute to cocaine use and addiction. It does this by providing some form of negative reinforcement for unwanted thoughts and actions. This can be mild pain, unpleasant tastes, or anything else that is harmless, but unpleasant.

12-Step Facilitation Therapy

This behavioral therapy focuses on getting recovering cocaine addicts to attend, participate in, and understand 12-step mutual support groups like Narcotics Anonymous. The addition of assigned sponsors and counseling services help this method be very successful.

Matrix Model Therapy

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the matrix model is a unique treatment approach that has shown to be incredibly effective in treating cocaine addiction. In this method, the therapist functions as a teacher and coach in non-confrontational group counseling. It also incorporates elements of nearly all other behavioral therapies that have proven effective in stopping cocaine abuse.

Why Behavioral Therapy is Necessary

Cocaine addiction is a behavioral disorder. There are no medications approved to treat it and it has very real potential to be deadly. For this reason, it is essential that people suffering from this disease seek behavioral treatments to give themselves the best chance at stopping their cocaine use and living a healthy and productive life.