Question

What psychological treatment strategies could a mental health professional use to help someone achieve abstinence? How so?

What is the long term outcome for people with substance related disorders?

Answer 1

Abstinence

The act or practice of abstaining or refraining from indulging a desire or appetite.

Psychological treatment strategies to achieve abstinence

A psychotherapeutic approach begins by getting the patient to accept alcoholism is an illness. The patient must genuinely accept the fact that she or he needs help.

1. Behaviour therapy

Behavioural psychologists believe that drinking is learned behaviour. Behavioural therapies try to reverse the reinforcement pattern so that abstinence brings reward or avoids punishment. Techniques used include aversion therapy, assertiveness, relaxation,biofeedback.

2. Family therapy

Members of drug abuser's family often need treatment as much as the patient. Family is seen as a total group and counselled as a unit. Family can support the person in maintaining abstinence.

3. Counselling and supportive therapy: Counselling is an effective tool to support the person in his abstinence from drugs. Counselling is a relationship between two persons, one is an expert who offer help, the other one is seeking help.

4. Contingency management : One of the behavioural therapy for substance abuse. It involves rewarding the patient for adaptive behaviour and give punishments for the undesirable behaviour.

5. Cognitive therapy: To eradicate all the negative cognition related to life and to impart positive thinking in them.

These psychological therapies will help a person, who really want to quit the abuse. These therapies will support him psychologically and socially.

Long term outcome of people with substance related disorders

Studies shows that approximately 25% of drug users had died within two decades after starting the drug abuse.Half of them got chronic or devastating illness like HIV AIDS.

Studies shows that a 25% people keep abstinence after the treatment for drug abuse.Follow ups are must in the treatment for abstinence from drug abuse.