Efficacy of Behavioural Couples Therapy

Behavioural Couples Therapy (BCT) is designed for married individuals seeking help for alcoholism or drug abuse. BCT sees the substance-abusing patient together with the spouse. Its purposes are to build support for abstinence and to improve relationship functioning. Behavioural Couples Therapy promotes abstinence with a Recovery Contract. It involves both members of the couple in a daily ritual to reward abistinance. Behavioural Couples Therapy improves relationship with techniques for increasing positive activities and improving communication. Behavioural Couples Therapy has three primary objectives namely a) To eliminate abusive drinking and drug abuse, b)To engage the family's support for the patient's efforts to change, c) To change couple and family interaction patterns conducive to long-term, stable abstinence and a stable relationship. It focuses on the four promises or commitments. Trust Discussion and Recovery Contract, Catch the Partner Doing Something Nice as well as Assigning Practices. There are necessary Shared Rewarding Activities and Caring Day Relationship Agreements that need to be followed in order to get a complete recovery from the substance abuse completely.