Therapy
Therapy for Opioid Use Disorder: What Works
Therapy plays a real role in opioid use disorder treatment — but it works best alongside medication, not as a substitute for it, and…
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Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Addiction
CBT is one of the most well-studied therapy approaches for substance use disorders, built around a straightforward idea: thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected,…
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Therapy
Contingency Management: The Most Underused Evidence-Based Tool
Contingency management has one of the strongest evidence bases of any behavioral intervention for substance use disorders — and remains one of the least…
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Therapy
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational interviewing (MI) is a communication approach, not a treatment in itself — it’s about resolving ambivalence about change rather than pushing someone toward…
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Therapy
Finding a Therapist Who Understands Addiction
Not every therapist has real experience with substance use disorders — finding one who does matters for getting therapy that actually helps. Where to…
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Therapy
What to Expect in Your First Session
Not knowing what a first therapy session looks like keeps some people from ever scheduling one — here’s a realistic picture. What typically happens:…
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Therapy
Group Therapy: What It’s Actually Like
Group therapy is a common component of treatment programs — here’s what to actually expect, since media portrayals often don’t match reality. Common formats:…
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Therapy
12-Step Programs: What the Evidence Shows
12-step programs (Narcotics Anonymous, and adapted versions for opioid use specifically) are widely available and help many people — the evidence picture is genuinely…
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Therapy
SMART Recovery, LifeRing, Refuge Recovery: Secular Alternatives
For people who want peer support without a spiritual or religious framework, several secular alternatives to traditional 12-step programs exist. SMART Recovery: Based on…
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Therapy
Peer Recovery Support Specialists
Peer recovery support specialists are people with their own lived experience of substance use and recovery, trained and often certified to support others —…
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