In order to break the cycle of chronic drug use, drug-dependent individuals must make important changes in their life styles and attitudes and usually need help in doing so. Behavioral and psychosocial treatments are the cornerstone of services available to help drug abusers achieve and sustain meaningful periods of abstinence. However, research efforts in this important area have remained relatively stagnant in relation to the pace of research on biological and molecular bases of drug dependence and medications development. To address this discrepancy, NIDA has recently initiated a program to encourage development and testing of innovative behavioral and psychosocial therapies as well as systematic testing of existing therapies. Their other illicit drug use, especially cocaine, is often a primary target of behavioral interventions.
Incentives can be effective way to motivate abstinence from illicit drug use.
Take-homes are the most powerful reward available in the normal operation of methadone treatment programs. Treatment of cocaine abusers . Treatment of primary cocaine abusers relies entirely on behavior and psychosocial therapies because there have been no effective medications discovered to date. Community Reinforcement therapy is a powerful new behavioral treatment for cocaine abuse. Relapse prevention therapy, which teaches patients to recognize high-risk situations for drug use and to implement coping strategies, has also shown promise for treatment of cocaine abusers.