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The Community Reinforcement Approach to the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders
Author(s) -
Smith Jane Ellen,
Meyers Robert J.,
Miller William R.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
the american journal on addictions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.997
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-0391
pISSN - 1055-0496
DOI - 10.1080/10550490150504137
Subject(s) - substance use , substance abuse treatment , substance abuse , reinforcement , psychology , cognition , clinical psychology , psychiatry , psychotherapist , social psychology
Empirical support is presented for the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA), a broad‐spectrum cognitive‐behavioral treatment for substance use disorders. At the core of CRA is the belief that an individual's environment can play a powerful role in encouraging or discouraging drinking and drug use. Consequently, it attempts to rearrange contingencies so that sober behavior is more rewarding than substance‐abusing behavior. Originally tested in the early 1970s with a small sample of alcohol‐dependent inpatients, it has repeatedly proven to be successful over the years with larger, diverse populations. Empirical backing is also presented for a new variant of CRA that works through family members to engage treatment‐resistant individuals into substance abuse treatment.