In the United States and Canada, a number of different approaches to addiction treatment have been made in recent history. There is no cure for addiction, so its various treatments come from different theoretical backgrounds. Some have proven impressively successful while others have fallen out of credibility.
Well known psychologist Carl Rogers was responsible for the client centered methods, which were known for empowering the addicted client to define the objectives of their treatment. The success that this method saw was partly attributed to the therapeutic and encouraging relationship that the counselor provided to the client.
One of the oldest and most successful models of addiction treatment is the disease model. In labeling and defining addiction as a biological disease that is worsened by behavioral, emotional and environmental factors, a unique approach to the condition is formed. By admitting to one’s own powerlessness to end an addiction, they declare their dependence on a higher power and a strong support system to resist their addiction.
Sigmund Freud offered us a psychoanalytical approach to addiction, which is seldom regarded as a useful approach to addiction treatment. As many of Freud’s theories do, the psychoanalytic theory of addiction gets back to sex. According to Freud, addiction stems from sexual tension and the desire to express sexuality and homosexuality. This approach became irrelevant because modern psychology does not acknowledge the necessity of human sexuality to addiction.
The regulation of emotion has proven to be an important conversation to have within the addiction treatment world. Many addicts have been found to abuse substances as an unconscious way of warding off negative feelings, physical or emotional, such as withdrawal symptoms or negative moods. If the addict can learn to identify and control the negative feelings that make them abuse a substance, they statistically have a higher chance at recovering.
And lastly, cognitive methods of addiction treatment revolve around the addicted individual’s ability to cognitively recognize what their own behavior and thought patterns are and cognitively manipulate them. The cognitive behavioral approach to addiction treatment is one of the prominent tools of private addiction counseling.
If you are an American or Canadian struggling with addiction, reach out for help today. If your addiction is to a substance, you may need a detoxification, which you can find in many locations across both countries, such as a New York detox center or a Calgary drug detox. Rehabilitation will be the next step, and you will be able to choose from rehabs in California, Florida, British Columbia and more. DO not hesitate to receive the treatment you need!
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