Beating the urge: Implications of research into substance-related desires

摘要: Despite the advent of improved pharmacological treatments to alleviate substance-related desires, psychological approaches will continue be required. However, current treatment that most specifically focuses on desires and their management—cue exposure (CE)—has not lived up its original promise. This paper argues desire do adequately incorporate our knowledge about factors trigger, maintain, terminate episodes desire. It asserts instigation maintenance involve both associative elaborative processes. Understanding processes triggering initiation intrusive thoughts may assist in preventing some episodes, but occasional intrusions inevitable. A demonstration ineffectiveness thought suppression discourage use as a coping strategy for desire-related intrusions, mindfulness meditation plus cognitive therapy help accepting occurrence letting them go. Competing tasks used reduce elaboration competing sensory images have particular utility. The application these procedures during are elicited clinic allow acquisition more effective strategies address natural environment.