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Approaches to Drug Abuse Counseling NIDA (2019) highlights different approaches to drug addiction treatment. Their webpage provides detailed information concerning drug addiction, treatment strategies, principles of effective treatment, and treatment for criminal justice populations. This discussion looks into the application of behavioral therapies to treat drug addiction. NIDA (2019) clarified that behavioral therapies provide the ground for modifying behaviors and attitudes towards drug use. These therapies boost the healthy life skills of a person, thus helping individuals make rational decisions. Mental health professionals combine medications and behavioral therapies to elevate a person’s chances of recovery from drug addiction. They provide patients with these treatments in inpatient settings and outpatient treatment settings. Outpatient behavioral treatment, as described by NIDA (2019), refers to the group and individual counseling programs provided in health care settings. They include cognitivebehavioral therapy (CBT), motivational incentives and interviewing, and multidimensional family therapy. CBT helps patients develop skills to identify, avoid and cope with scenarios revolving around drug use. While motivational interviewing improves individual preparedness to deal with inappropriate behavior and start treatment, motivational incentives reinforce behavior and encourage self-restraint from substances (NIDA, 2019). The initial phase of addiction treatment is intensive. The treatment plan requires patients to attend numerous sessions per week. With time, they transition to less intensive regular outpatient treatment. Inpatient treatment comprises short-term residential treatment, recovery housing, and therapeutic communities. These interventions are preferred for individuals with severe substance use disorders and co-occurring disorders. These programs aim to help a person live a drug-free lifestyle. For instance, the therapeutic communities program takes 6 to 12 months to complete.