Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in Massachusetts

If you live in the Boston area, have struggled to maintain balance, and throw off the shackles of drug and alcohol dependency, you are not alone. Cognitive behavioral therapy is proven to help anyone living with an alcohol or substance use disorder. Keep reading to discover how CBT works and how therapy can be your catalyst for change.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Massachusetts

In the 1960s, a psychiatrist named Aaron Beck began to notice that his patients with major depressive disorder expressed thoughts that contained cognitive distortions and lacked validity. A cognitive distortion is defined as “Internal mental filters or biases that increase our misery, fuel our anxiety, and make us feel bad about ourselves.” After a decade of research and practical application, Beck released the benchmark study “Cognitive Therapy for Depression,” and a new way of treating mental health problems was born. Today CBT is the most extensively researched of all psychotherapies, with several evidence-based treatment protocols.

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a talk therapy based on the concept that our thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and actions are interconnected. Negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a cycle that affects your senses and actions; CBT works to break learned patterns of unhelpful behavior by challenging negative thoughts and feelings. CBT teaches people suffering from psychological health issues a better way of coping with problems, relieving the symptoms associated with mental health disorders like depression and anxiety. CBT is an umbrella term that covers many different types of therapy, including dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and cognitive restructuring. CBT is an evidence-based method proven to help those living with a substance use disorder or other mental health issues.

Who Needs Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

In an ideal world, everyone could access the benefits of therapy. Mental health issues are part of the human condition, and everyone on the planet will be affected by loss or trauma at some point in their lives. CBT benefits anyone who commits themselves to the process, no matter what they’re dealing with. In the context of drug and alcohol use, rehabilitation therapy will help you identify unhelpful or destructive thoughts and behaviors, aka cognitive distortions. You’ll then work with your therapist to develop more productive ways of dealing with these distortions and adapt to new ways of thinking. CBT is proven to help those with a substance use disorder achieve recovery. CBT is also highly effective in treating co-occurring disorders. Almost half the people who develop a substance use disorder have other disorders like anxiety, ADHD, depression, PTSD, and bipolar disorders.

How does Cognitive Behavior Therapy work (CBT)?

As CBT is a form of talk therapy, it quite literally works by talking. When you meet your primary therapist at Psyclarity, you’ll establish a relationship based on trust and understanding. You’ll begin to feel comfortable talking about the events that have impacted how you view yourself and your place in society. Many people who experience adverse childhood experiences (ACE) develop an alcohol or substance use disorder, and ACE also increases your risk of chronic health problems. The therapy programs at Psyclarity are all trauma-informed, which means that your therapist recognizes the impacts of experiences that threaten your safety and well-being. Trauma changes how we regulate our thoughts, feelings, and ability to care for ourselves. Trauma-informed therapy also acknowledges that a person may not think of themselves as a trauma survivor and may not be fully aware of the consequences of living with what they’ve experienced. Your therapist at Psyclarity recognizes that the mind and body of someone living with unhealed trauma are in an altered state and will use their expertise to promote healing and prevent further harm.

What conditions can CBT treat?

CBT is an effective therapy for many different kinds of mental health problems, including

• • anger problems

• • anxiety and panic attacks

• • bipolar disorder

• • depression

• • drug or alcohol use disorders

• • disordered eating

• • hoarding

• • obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

• • perinatal mental health problems

• • phobias

• • post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

• • psychosis

• • schizoaffective disorder

• • schizophrenia

• • thoughts of self-harm

• • sleep problems

• • stress

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Addiction

Alcohol and substance use disorders are diseases of the mind, like cancer is a disease of the body. Recovery is possible with intervention, treatment, and support. Our society still places the responsibility for this disease on the person living with it, even though science tells us that it is not a moral failing or a character flaw. It seems ludicrous to blame someone who developed leukemia for their disease, so why do we do so for substance use disorders? The weight of this stigma is monumental and often prevents people from seeking help. Over 20 million Americans on any given day live with a physical dependency on drugs or alcohol, yet the vast majority never receive treatment. Substance use disorders are also the only illness punished by laws, although criminal charges do nothing to prevent and treat this disease.

Types of Drug Addiction that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Treats

CBT is a wonderfully flexible therapy that can be adapted to treat many health problems and substance use disorders. At Psyclarity, we offer therapy to treat the following types of drug addiction.

• • Alcohol addiction

• • Meth addiction

• • Benzodiazepine addiction

• • Opioid addiction

• • Cocaine addiction

• • Prescription drug addiction

• • Co-Occurring disorders

• • Sleeping pills addiction

• • Crack addiction

• • Stimulant addiction

How Our Cognitive-behavioral Therapy Program In Massachusetts Can Help

During your time in our rehabilitation program, you’ll explore the deeper reasons driving your substance use. You’ll learn to let go of any guilt or shame you carry for past events beyond your control. You’ll also learn to recognize the triggers that prompt you to use drugs and alcohol and form new, healthy habits to replace substance use. Through individual and group therapy, you’ll develop a relapse prevention plan and understand denial management. Most importantly, you’ll learn how to forgive and love yourself again. Recovery from addiction is a life-long process, and your case manager will work with you to find an aftercare peer support group that fits your personal beliefs to continue building on what you have learned in treatment.

Getting Help through CBT at Psyclarity Health

If you are battling a substance use disorder, know there is help and hope for your recovery. Overdoses kill more people yearly than guns, breast cancer, and car crashes combined.

You’re not a bad person; you’re living with a terrible disease that kills tens of thousands of Americans yearly. According to the CDC, over 100,000 Americans died from an overdose in 2021. That’s a hundred thousand grieving families left to pick up the pieces. Don’t leave your loved ones to mourn you; addiction is a treatable medical illness. Call us at (1) 855 924 5350 today; our admission specialists are standing by to answer your questions. You are capable of change and worthy of love. You can do this!

Addiction Treatment Center in Massachusetts