Abstract
This study aimed to understand the perception of psychologists who work in Psychosocial Care Centers for Alcohol and Drugs about the inclusion of cognitive-behavioral therapies for treating addiction to alcohol and other drugs in their practice. A qualitative exploratory study was carried out, by interviewing 16 psychologists who work in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. The collected data were analyzed with Bardin’s thematic content analysis. The results show that, in the psychologists’ perception, these strategies are likely to be adopted in the centers and provide good results to the treatment, despite limitations in the specialized training in cognitive-behavioral therapies for dealing with drug addiction among the participants. The contribution of these therapies to evidence-based practice in the public service concerning monitoring and evaluation of results, and their compatible relationship with the harm reduction strategy and with the logic of psychosocial treatment are discussed. Although cognitive-behavioral therapies are recognized in other countries as well-founded scientific processes and provide essential characteristics for public health, challenges persist for adopting these tools in the treatment of addiction to alcohol and other drug in mental health services in Brazil.
Keywords:
Mental Health Services; Substance-related Disorders; Cognitive Therapy