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What is Operant Conditioning as relating to addiction treatment and recovery? |
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Operant Conditioning is a common sense form of conditioning - when you do something and get a reward, you learn to do it more. When you do something that leads to punishment, you do it less (usually). Operant conditioning in addiction treatment (substance abuse, alcoholism) usually refers to the way a counselor will help you understand WHY you engage in addictive behaviors, so you start to see the reward portion and can better understand what leads to using. Some therapies rely heavily on operant conditioning for treatment for addiction. It is always up to your counselor to determine the best approach for an individual. Research CRAFT therapy for one example of heavy use of operant conditioning within families, as a way to teach everyone involved in an addict's life to change the terms of reward/punishment in the family community (or relationship if it is a significant other). |
