Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an empirically tested treatment for mental health disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapists work with clients to identify maladaptive thoughts and restructure them so they no longer produce negative emotions and behaviors. Therapists often face clients who were prompted to attend therapy by a friend, spouse or family member and lack insight into their own problems, a primary early goal is helping the client gain insight into the benefits of psychotherapy, by first determining which “stage of change” the client is in.
Stages of Change
Prochaska and Declemente's Stages of Change Model addresses different levels of readiness for change, especially around addiction: Precontemplation (client denies any problem, lacks awareness, common in mandated anger-management cases), Contemplation (client considers change but hasn't acted), Action (client actively works to remediate problems, fully engaged in treatment), and Maintenance (client has achieved goals from the action phase and works to maintain them).
Substance Abuse and Stages of Change
Substance abusers are often encouraged into treatment while in precontemplation, denying the problem despite its impact on family, friends, and other life domains. Therapists use motivational enhancement techniques to help clients reach their own realization. Clients often continue needing therapy during maintenance, especially early on, to resist relapse, session frequency decreases as clinically indicated; the longer a client remains abstinent, the better the prognosis.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapists
The stages of change model may be addressed in both individual and group psychotherapy formats; in groups, members relate to and share narratives about their own progression through the stages.
For an updated, more in-depth look at this topic, see Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Drugs.