The role of psychotherapy in the treatment of substance-use disorders.

Abstract

Psychotherapies for substance-use disorders are reviewed, with particular attention to modifications of standard treatments necessary to make them effective for patients with disorders. Treatments reviewed include cognitive-behavioral therapies (Relapse Prevention, Cognitive Therapy, Contingency Contracting, Behavioral Treatment, Cue Exposure, Network Therapy, and Aversion Therapy) and psychodynamic/interpersonal methods (Supportive-Expressive Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Modified Psychoanalytic Therapy). The psychotherapies selected are individual, verbally based treatments for substance-use disorders; except for modified psychoanalytic therapy, all have been presented in treatment manuals and empirically studied. Research shows that these forms of psychotherapy can be effective, with some treatments providing more benefit than others for specific subpopulations, but no one treatment is consistently more effective than any other. General guidelines consistent across psychotherapies for substance-use disorders are discussed, with emphasis on phases of treatment, the importance of a compassionate stance by the therapist, the difficulty of engaging substance abusers in treatment, the need for urine and breath-alcohol testing, assessment of comorbid disorders, countertransference problems, the need for multiple treatment modalities, evaluation of the therapist's effectiveness, adjusting the amount of treatment, and appropriate termination. Directions for future research are also discussed.