Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Treatment for addiction needs to contain a combination of therapy methods due to the complexity of the disease. A common difficulty with addicts begins with the inability to see they have a problem and need to seek medical attention to help fight the disease. First, loved ones, family, and friends must make it their responsibility to get the addict help. According to Neurologist Dr. Marvin Seppala, in a CNN article on July 16, 2013, “Addiction: The disease that lies,”
We assume they can make their own decisions, especially when it comes to help for their addiction. In so doing we are expecting the person with a diseased brain to accept the unacceptable, that the continued use of drugs is not providing relief from the problem -- it is

After one has accepted his or her problem and agreed to treatment, there are a variety of options one could pursue. Dr. Timothy Cannon, a Behavioral Neuroscience professor at the University of Scranton, believes addiction treatment should involve “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) because it is backed by science, unlike the 12- step approach used in Alcohol Anonymous, mixed with some type of pharmaceutical drug such as naltrexone which blunts the urge and changes behavior by affecting the reward system.” The 12- step approach should not be considered a valid treatment because it revolves around a philosophical/religious view which believes a “higher power” can cure addicts. Patient- driven therapy, such as the 12-step approach, does not result in better treatment. However, doctor-driven therapy methods involving medicine and science create numerous successful ways to make an addict healthy. CBT, a psychotherapeutic treatment, helps patients understand the thoughts and feelings that influence behavior. With addicts, CBT teaches and encourages addicts to reduce use or stop taking drugs. CBT may not be enough to help change an addict’s brain function and structure back to normal, however, pharmaceutical drugs can. Administering these drugs creates a lower instinctive drive for the brain to receive the addictive drugs.

Kyle Smith’s New York Post “Addiction is not a disease—and we’re treating addicts incorrectly” on July 12, 2015, details the concepts of Neuroscientist Dr. Marc Lewis, a longtime addict and professor of Developmental Psychology. Dr. Lewis says, “Addiction is not a disease. It’s simply a nasty habit.” This belief portrays addiction to be a moral failing and a weakness of willpower. In the beginning, drug use results from poor willpower or a moral difficulty because the person does not say no to drugs. However, once drugs become addictive, it can no longer be considered a habit because habits resolve with internal mental strength, but addiction requires external help. Without help from doctors and resources addiction will most likely not be cured. Dr. Lance Dodes’ article, “Is Addiction Really a Disease?” in Psychology Today December 17, 2011, describes the contradicting beliefs on addiction. Dr. Dodes said, “In addiction there is no infectious agent, no pathological biological process, and no biologically degenerative condition. The only ‘disease-like’ aspect of addiction is that if people do not deal with it, their lives tend to get worse.” In this case, addiction cannot be a disease because it does not incorporate the characteristics of a disease. Addiction creates a unique situation when defining it