Psychotherapies for Marijuana Use Disorder and Anxiety: CBT and Family Therapies

Running head: THERAPIES
THERAPIES
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THERAPIES
Psychotherapies can be described as the term that are often applied for the variety of
treatment techniques aiming to help the persons in indentifying and changing troubling emotions
as well as thoughts and behaviors (Volkow et al., 2016). The psychotherapies are seen to take
place with licensed as well as trained mental health care professionals and the clients meeting for
one or with other patients or family members in the group settings. This assignment would be
putting focus on two major therapies like cognitive behavioral therapies as well as family
therapies. Their intervention procedures on marijuana disorder and anxiety issues in clients will
be discussed.
Cognitive behavioral therapy can be defined as the short-term, goal-oriented
psychotherapy treatment that mainly follows a hands-on, practical approach towards problem
solving. The main aim of this therapy is to bring changes in the different patterns of the thinking
or the behaviors that are behind the difficulties of the problems faced by the individuals. This
helps to change the ways that the patients feel. Researchers have conducted various studies and
have found that CBT successfully help in treating a wide range of issues in the life of individuals
(Fortuna et al., 2018). This may range from sleeping difficulties or relationship programs to that
of drug as well as alcohol abuse and even anxiety and depressions. This approach is mainly seen
to work by modifying the attitudes of the people as well as their behaviors. This is done by
focusing on the thoughts as well as the images, beliefs and attitudes that are harbored by the
individuals. Studies opine that the therapists mainly want to investigate how these procedures
relate to the ways a person behaves and to the way of dealing of different emotional problems.
Marijuana use disorder can be defined as the continuous use of cannabis in spite of
clinically significant distress as well as impairment experienced by the individuals. This is
mainly seen to include symptoms including a strong desire of the individuals to take cannabis as

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THERAPIES
well as also facing difficulties in controlling the uses. They are seen to be persisting in the use of
the drug despite different harmful consequences. They are seen to ensure a higher priority to
cannabis use than many other activities and obligations. They are also seen to experience
increased tolerance to the different outcomes of the drug. This disorder is associate with negative
outcomes on the quality of lives of the individuals (Velthorst et al., 2015). It is seen to cause
significant impairment in the academic as well as occupational functioning. The individuals are
also seen to develop suspiciousness as well as social withdrawal. Such individuals are also seen
to produce intoxicated behavior as well as impaired driving. They are also seen to develop
impulsivity as well as take up different risk taking activities and show irresponsibility. It also
causes various types of cognitive impairment. It leads to impairment in the motor coordination. It
also causes sensation of slowed time as well as impaired judgment (Palmier et al., 2017). It is
also seen to cause decreased short-term memory as well as impaired leaning as well as apathy. It
also causes psychosis as well as delirium. It also causes emotional distress like anxiety as well as
panic.
One of the positive outcomes that cognitive behavioral therapy brings to the treatment of
marijuana addiction is its emphasis on the long-term maintenance. The drug users of marijuana
are often seen to be subjected into relapse episodes. Therefore, therapists need to teach patients a
new set of attitudes as well as skills on which the clients can rely on the long run. These attitudes
and skills can not only help in the improvement of the sense of self-efficacy in the patients but
can also lead to reduction of different life stressors (Lee, 2015). This might otherwise cause
increase in the risk of the relapse.
The therapists performing the CBT can help the clients to learn the various ways of
delaying and distracting in responding to the cravings. This is mainly done by helping the

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individuals in getting engaged in different constructive activities like that of writing or
journaling, communicating with the supportive people, going for different meetings as well as
other positive means by which the individuals can successfully ride out of the wave of craving
until it dies away. The therapists would be also helping the client in identifying different
dysfunctional ways of thinking and accordingly modifying them through motivational
communication techniques (Blankers et al., 2016). The therapists help the patients to develop a
repertoire of appropriately assertive comments so that the client can effectively turn down
offers of smoking cannabis from peers or some other people. The therapists also help the clients
in learning how to solve different problems effectively and directly rather than trying to drown
out different problems by getting impaired as this only serves in worsening the issues. The
professionals are also seen to help the patients to practice the different behaviors as well as the
attitudes of self-respect that include counteracting beliefs. This would prevent the individuals
from undermining oneself and can prevent them from suffering from hopelessness and
helplessness that are often experienced by the people who want to withdraw the addiction. The
therapists are also seen to help the patient by providing different referrals of healthy social
support. They encourage the individuals in meeting with friends, family, relatives and others
who support sobriety and thereby staying away from those people who would undermine
different therapeutic goals (James et al., 2015). The professionals are also seen to make different
lifestyle changes that would support sobriety as well as self-efficacy. This would include
different healthy lifestyles for the patients helping them to adopt ways to refrain themselves from
cursing as well as raging. They are also helped in engaging in different meaningful hobbies as
well as doing things that promote spirituality and serenity.