Addiction Psychiatry

Biography

Betül Akyel has been a Psychologist for six years. She has completed her Master’s degree programme on Substance Addiction at ege University Institute on Drug Abuse and she has been a PhD student on Substance Addiction Programme at Ege University Institute on Drug Abuse, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science. Her research interests are addictive disorders, neurocognitive assessment and cognitive behavioral therapies.

 

Abstract

Despite the fact that the use of the substance causes considerable damage, persistent use is often explained by deterioration in the decision-making process. Decision-making essentially defined as a process that makes the most advantageous choice according to its long-term and short-term results. One of the factors that is closely related to substance use is higher delay discounting. Individuals with substance use disorder behave impulsively, choosing small immediate rewards associated with drug use over delayed rewards such as good health. In terms of substance abuse, it is thought that finding and implementing psychosocial ways to regulate these processes will be successful in terms of treatment success and relapse rates. Acceptance-based therapies can be considered as a valuable option with findings that reduce the delayed discounting. It is considered to be a powerful method in terms of reducing the level of stress related with delayed reward. Stress intolerance and psychological inflexibility also often lead to the decision to use drugs in individuals with substance use disorder by distorting their ability of staying in a negative mood. Acceptance-based therapies are also used for strengthening this ability by increasing stress tolerance and flexibility. Another alternative approach is goal management training (GMT) when studying on decision making processes with substance use disorder. GMT trains self-regulation, feedback monitoring and response initiation that are fundamental cognitive control processes involved in decision-making. Enrolling this approach in usual substance use disorder treatment regimens, have shown a significant improvement in decision-making processes. In this presentation, it is the main goal to share how wrong decision-making processes, which may affect treatment success in terms of addiction, are retreated in different therapy techniques.