There are many different therapies in use for helping addicts and alcoholics to stay sober after they have managed to get through the detoxification process. Some of these therapies have been around for decades, while others are relatively new. One of the newer ones is Moral Reconation Therapy, a program that has been adapted from other areas of usage, and is now deployed in addiction treatment.
Moral Reconation Therapy gets its name from "conation," which refers to the thought processes that a person uses when facing a decision. From this, "reconation" was derived to mean re-doing the thought process. The therapy is all about getting addicts to let morals dictate their decision-making processes. If you are interested in behavioral therapy as drug rehab treatment, call Drug Treatment Centers Orlando at (877) 804-1531 for help finding centers.
Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT) falls under the general umbrella of cognitive behavioral therapy. People receiving the therapy are encouraged to analyze the reasons why they do things. They will be asked to explain the thought processes they go through in reaching decisions. When any of their decisions would be considered immoral, the therapist will try to make the addict see where he or she has made the wrong choice. The hope is that the addict will become better at telling right from wrong, and be motivated to choose correctly.
Anybody who has an addiction can benefit from MRT. Addicts need constant reinforcement of the benefits of staying sober. They have to overcome constant urges to relapse, especially when they are struggling to cope with other problems of the kind we all have to deal with.
Addicts are not immune from things like financial problems, emotional stress, bereavement, relationship breakdowns, difficulties at work, and so on. We all find these situations difficult to cope with. The issue for addicts is that, when confronted with such problems, they may choose drugs or alcohol to blot out the problems. MRT tries to provide them with the knowledge and self-awareness to choose a different way of handling their problems, one that does not involve alcohol or drugs.
Drug addiction treatment revolves around two key parts. The first part is getting an addict clean of the substance he or she abuses. However, that is only the start of recovery. For addicts, being clean is not the same as being cured. They have to constantly fight against relapsing. The longer they stay sober, the better their chances of not relapsing, but they will have the addiction for the rest of their lives.
The second key part of drug and alcohol addiction treatment is helping the addict to avoid relapse. There are many different therapies available to recovering addicts, one of which is MRT. Those who participate in MRT will almost certainly use other therapies and techniques in their quest to remain sober. MRT helps by teaching them to view the world in a different way.
In MRT, patients have to assume responsibility for their actions, and not try to blame others, or put their addiction problems down to environmental factors. They must acknowledge the ways in which their actions as addicts have negatively impacted on others, and they must accept that they need to do something to compensate those they have hurt. Those who participate in an MRT program are required to set long-term goals, and they must tell others what these goals are. They then need to make lifestyle choices that enable them to pursue the goals they have set.
At rehab centers they provide Moral Reconation Therapy, as well as many other aftercare programs. Studies in other areas have shown that MRT reduces relapse rates in the first year significantly.