The foundation of cognitive-behavioral therapy rests on a few main principles. The main one is that people often develop faulty and negative thinking about themselves and the world. As these negative thoughts take root over time, they become a part of the person’s emotional state. Consequently, negative thoughts influence how a person feels and responds to the world and others and lead to harmful behavior.

Through a cognitive-behavioral therapy program, the therapist works to help the person identify the negative thinking, and then they expose it to the person. During CBT, the therapist challenges your false thoughts and helps replace them with more accurate, positive ones.

Sometimes you may not know why you act or feel the way you do. Have you ever got upset, stressed, or even angry and then later wondered why you felt the way you did? It’s easy to act in ways we regret when we feel stressed or angry too. The fact is something from the past could be triggering our emotions, and thereby our actions follow.

If you find you’re always responding and reacting to situations without realizing why then a CBT program will benefit you by delving into the core issue of your problem. Instead of reacting all the time to things without understanding why you will begin to understand what drives those thoughts. As you gain understanding, you will also get better control over these actions.

When you do the work of cognitive-behavioral therapy or CBT, you can get to the core of your addiction issues. You’ll understand what drove you to use drugs in the first place. Often, individuals abuse drugs or alcohol due to some underlying mental health issues such as anxiety or depression or because of stressors at work, school, or within their family.

The opportunity to become a more rational person. CBT helps you think rationally about situations and problems when they appear instead of immediately thinking about a worst-case scenario. This not only helps avoid negative emotions but also helps you solve the problem more efficiently and effectively.

Rational thinking also leads to more controlled thinking. You have a better grasp of your thoughts and emotions when you face negative issues or situations. You can use your new coping mechanisms to work past the problem rather than turning to substance use to cope with it. As a result of having a better attitude and thought processes, you will think about yourself in a positive way and end the negative patterns in your thinking. By incorporating these operant learning strategies and mental health services, positive change will form for the better.

CBT has an emphasis on relapse prevention. Individuals who misuse alcohol and other drugs experience relapse incidents often. CBT therapists teach clients new attitudes and skills to depend on in the long term. This improves the person’s feeling of self-reliance, but it also leads to reducing life pressures that increase the risk of relapse.