Taste Aversion Therapy

With the possibility of drugs capable of suppressing the urge to consume alcohol in addicts, many people who normally would not be helped by a simple 12 step program, could use such drugs in combination with standard treatment in the future to help combat their addiction.

Alcoholism is a prominent substance abuse issue in Western society. The treatment method of controlled drinking as opposed to abstinence is a continuing cause of controversy in alcohol research to this day. The US is different from Europe in its acceptance of controlled drinking as a goal of treatment: “in the US alcohol dependence is typically depicted as a ‘recurring disease’ and the ‘successful abstainer’ as a ‘recovering’ though never ‘recovered’ alcoholic” (Coldwell, 2005). Depending on the alcohol abuse patient’s individual characteristics, either controlled drinking or abstinence is chosen as a treatment.

Alcoholism is a problem experienced in many societies and covers issues associated with intake of alcohol (Schneider, 1978). In most cases, it is used to refer to addictive and uncontrolled use or abuse of alcohol such that the health, relationships and social status of a person is eroded. Due to its negative effects on users, it is considered as a bad practice in the society. Alcoholism is contributed by many social issues concerning users as well as society and is largely accepted as a social deviance behavior. However, according to Schneider (1992), deviant drinking has been

Addiction to drugs and alcohol has changed the lives of millions of Americans. According to Alcoholics Anonymous: Addiction will play tricks on the mind, forcing it to get stuck in an emotional and intellectual limbo. This limbo paralyzes rational associations by replacing a traditional outlook on life to one of an addict. The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. In order to grow emotionally its important to analyze our own actions and behaviors according to the Alcoholics Anonymous book. The Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous; the stories of experience, strength and hope come together to form a compilation of success stories(Alcoholics Anonymous, 2001, p. 562-566). This books treatment for the disease of addiction is a series of reconditioning interpretations and a understanding of behaviors. The treatment for psychological issues that have been coped with by means of addiction is enough for a free life time membership to A.A. The A.A. way of life is relatively simple but many still relapse again and again. Those that work the program recondition their mind and eventually find serenity. Often, more times than

Substance abuse consists of an individual exhibiting dysfunctional behavior as a result of consuming psychoactive substances that eventually culminate in adverse consequences. According to the 2013, National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 24.6 million Americans over the age of 12 were current illicit drug users; moreover, 136.9 million Americans were current alcohol users, which is more than half (52.2%) of the American population (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2013). Cognitive-behavioral therapies are among the most thoroughly studied psychotherapeutic approaches for individuals with substance abuse disorders that date back to the work of Ivan Pavlov on classic conditioning. There have been multiple studies that show cognitive-behavioral model of addiction can be effective as a stand-alone treatment or combined other treatment strategies. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for substance abuse incorporates a variety of individual and group treatments including motivational interviewing, contingency management, pharmacotherapy, psychoeducational therapy, coping and social skills training, and relapse prevention.

Aversive stimuli often includes vomit and paralysis-inducing substances, electric shock and odor producing substances like ammonia (Maletzky 1991). There are two variations of this technique. The first is called covert sensitization, which is a safer option that has been used. This technique involves the imagination of the stimuli’s versus actually experiencing them (Maletzsky). The other variation is called shame aversion therapy which involves the patient being forced into public humiliation to coincide with his/her deviant behavior (Langevin 1983). This has only been tested in uncontrolled studies and there was nothing consistent (Langevin 1983). There are three other methods that are used frequently, especially when offenders don’t take to the first two that were mentioned. The first is called masturbatory satiation, in which the goal is to reduce negative sexual attraction by pairing it with boredom. The patient is actually told to masturbate for up to an hour, while talking outload about his fantasy, and must continue even after an orgasm. The second method is called orgasmic reconditioning. This method involves the transfer of deviant arousal towards a normal

Results--- Patients were able to abstain more frequently from addictive substances through resistance, which was due to the acceptance of negativity of thoughts, coping with cravings, as well as less or manageable stress.

Alcoholism is a very complex disorder. It is believed that genetics and several other biological factors are likely involved in the materialization of alcohol dependence, along with cognitive behavior, temperament, psychological and sociocultural factors. Alcohol use patterns including alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence are “familial” in nature (cf. Heath et al., Kendlerm Heath, heath Neale, Kessler & Eaves, 1992; Hesselbrock, 1995) Alcohol abuse is a drinking pattern that results In significant and recurrent adverse consequences. People suffering from alcoholism (technically known as alcohol dependence) have lost reliable control of their alcohol use. Neither the amount or kind of alcohol that an alcohol dependent person consumes

Motivational Enhancement Therapy is a treatment approach I resonate with for the treatment of alcohol disorders. The use of this approach will allow the individual to engage exploring the internal motivations for their behavior and resolving any ambivalence. Using this intervention is effective but short in duration and will reduce any possible risk of abrupt termination of treatment by the client. Nonetheless, using this type of therapy will build and strengthen motivation to change drinking behavior, while achieving moving forward in set goals. In addition,

Nowadays as science and technology develop rapidly, traditional theory of explaining drinking addiction is under challenge. More and more neuroscientists, psychologists and biologists contribute to the exploration of chemical mechanisms working behind alcohol and addiction. As one of the most well-known neuroscientist, Marc Lewis (2011) offers his point of view is that alcohol ultimately affects the brain, which is the source of all our experience (p.22). As we all know, brain is the primary organ of mind, the crucial center of control, and the ultimate foundation of ideas. Even subtle changes in brain can directly lead to the alteration in a person’s mood, cognition and behaviours. Based on the knowledge that I learned in

There are two distinct subcategories of conditioned responses that should be analyzed in addicts, known as either “drug-like or drug opposite” (Childress, 1990) responses. Drug- like responses are triggered by pairing “distinct stimuli with drug administration” (Childress, 1990), which are normally environmentally influenced, intensifying the desire for the specific drug. However, drug-opposite responses occur when the person’s responses “resemble withdrawal-like states” (Carter, 1999). For example, if before a drug use an individual feels as if they are going through a withdrawal even though they really aren’t, it can be classified as a drug- opposite response. Since both of these conditioned responses are learned, there is a way to reverse the learning to treat

“Aversion therapy can be used with alcoholics. Alcohol is paired with an emetic drug (a drug which causes nausea and vomiting). Over time the alcoholic associate’s alcohol with being sick and does not

This is a picture of a Lunchables nacho lunch. This is something my friend has learned to avoid through learned taste aversion. She had one bad experience eating this for lunch many years ago, and since then she has been unable to eat nachos or even think about them without feeling sick to her stomach. Learned taste aversion is a special type of classical conditioning in which one trial makes the connection between the conditioned stimulus and the conditioned response. Learned taste aversion also differs from regular classical conditioning because the time between the presentation of the conditioned stimulus and the conditioned response could be multiple hours apart and the connection can still be made, even though in regular cases the ideal

Numerous studies have been conducted on various treatments for addictive problems focusing on the abstinence as the goal for treating people with addiction problem. Addiction is a brain disease that can be treatable (Volkow, 2010) and people with addiction can be managed successfully through many ways which is abstinence-based treatment or also known as Minnesota model of addiction. Addiction can be defined as inability to consistently avoid, deterioration in behavioral control, craving and a dysfunctional of emotional response (Sussman & Sussman, 2011). Hartney (2015) define the abstinence as not engaging or avoid the addictive behavior or substance. Meanwhile Iliades (n.d) explained that according to abstinence-based treatment must base on

In all actuality, these scientists retain of alcoholism is more heredity rather than an addiction, since they look at it as a “neuroanatomical” this focuses on the individuals affects of emotions of happiness or melancholy. Researchers indicate the basics of what they call