When it comes to addiction, the most important thing is to use treatments that work. Evidence-based treatments—those that are backed by clinical evidence and peer-reviewed studies and trials—are becoming the standard for addiction treatment centers, and they have been at California Prime since our inception.

The easiest way to describe evidence-based treatments is with the simple phrase: “tried and true.” These are methods that have been used repeatedly with great success. Some of the most common evidence-based treatments that we offer for addiction therapy are:

• Motivational Interviewing, a practice in which therapists use open-ended questions, offering support and empathy, and encouraging patients to reflect upon the information uncovered in session summaries. 
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a versatile form of therapy that helps patients understand the link between their behavior and their actions. They will be able to replace unhealthy behaviors with healthier and more sustainable ones. CBT is popular because it is useful for so many different purposes, including just about every type of drug addiction.
• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a form of therapy that is not dissimilar to CBT although it is more appropriate for people who struggle with extreme emotional intensity. It is particularly helpful for patients with co-occurring emotional disorders like depression or anxiety.
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) encourages patients to recognize and accept the full range of thoughts and emotions that they experience. Rather than denying or trying to change them, they accept them as part of who they are which creates much less internal conflict. Coupled with mindfulness-based therapy, this approach can help people learn to accept themselves rather than trying to become someone else through the use of drugs and alcohol.