COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY

The Fundamentals of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Applied To Substance Abuse

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Applied To Substance Abuse

Introduction

That many prisoners have abused various substances prior to their incarceration is not surprising to those working in corrections. For example, a recent report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics stated that, in a national survey of five thousand jail inmates, prisoners were current users of drugs at a rate seven times that of the general population. Over one-third of these inmates reported that they were incarcerated for a crime that was intended to obtain money for drugs (Schied, Schroeter, 2007, 52-4). In the federal judicial system, 61% of offenders who were known to have a history of drug abuse, in contrast to 29% of parolees with no known drug use, violated the terms of their parole. According to the Drug Use Forecasting Annual Report, a substantial number of reserved arrestees tested positive for at least one drug at the time of their arrest. In 1990 these numbers ranged from 30% to 78% for males and 39% to 76% for females, varying by the city in which the data were collected. From these figures alone, it is evident that a significant number of incarcerated prisoners can be identified as substance abusers (Woods, Fields, 2008, 28-33).

It has been well-documented that substance abusers tend to be responsible for rather large amounts of criminal activity. Kim MT, Kim EY, Han HR, Jeong S, Lee JE, Park HJ, Kim KB, and Hill MN reported on heroin addicts and their often numerous criminal activities (Kim, Han, 2008, 176-84). While these reports appeared prior to the widespread availability and use of crack cocaine, Angelo, Miller, Zoellner , Feeny, (2007, 13-21) reported on the increasing role of cocaine as a factor in street crime. Scheid, Schroeter, (2007, 52-4) reported on the National AIDS Demonstration Research (NADR) population, which consisted of injection drug users; they found that 83% of over 26,000 people interviewed had been incarcerated at least one tune in their lives. Additionally, of over 15,000 subjects who reported being incarcerated during the past five years, 30% had been imprisoned for one year or longer, 12% faced pending criminal charges, 15% were on probation, and 11% were on parole. Clearly, there is little question that drug-related crime has been a major factor in filling the nation's jails beyond their intended capacity (e.g.,Angelo, Miller, Zoellner , Feeny, 2007, 13-21)

How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy originated

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was originated as a general classification of psychotherapy, and several approaches to CBT fall within this classification, including Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, Rational Behavior Therapy, Rational Living Therapy, Schema Focused Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Each approach has its own developmental history. The following is a generally accepted accounting of the history of CBT (Kim, Han, 2008, 176-84).

The first discrete, intentionally therapeutic approach to CBT to be developed was Rational Emotive Therapy (RET), which was originated by Albert Ellis, Ph.D. in the mid-1950. Ellis developed his approach in reaction to his disliking of the in-efficient and ...