Behavioral Couples Therapy for Substance Use Disorders

Keith Klostermann* and Theresa Mignone

Behavioral Couples Therapy for Substance Use Disorders.

When taken as a whole, these findings seem to support the idea that partner-involved treatments are the most broadly efficacious in treating substance use disorders. There is not only substantial empirical support for the use of couple-based treatments in terms of improvements in primary targeted outcomes, but also in other areas that are of clear public health significance.

Behavioral couples therapy for substance use disorders is a theoretically-based, manualized, and empirically supported treatment based on social learning theory, which suggests that substance abusing couples engage in reciprocal interactional patterns characterized by punishment rather than mutual positive reinforcement of relationship benefitting behaviors. The purpose of this commentary is to provide a rationale for the use of couples therapy for treating substance use disorders and describe the main components of this intervention.

The primary method for addressing problematic substance use involves the use of a recovery contract in which the couple, with the help of the therapist, identifies positive and
supportive activities, which are conducive to both short- and longterm recovery and may include self-help activities, church groups, and other positive, abstinence-related activities that the client  may find helpful.

The trust discussion is one of the central activities of the RC and involves the partners engaging in a
daily trust discussion in which the client states his or her intent to not use drugs or alcohol and the partner thanking the client for his or her efforts and offering positive support as needed.

Soc Behav Res Pract Open J. 2019; 3(1): 25-27. doi: 10.17140/SBRPOJ-3-113

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