Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Opioid Use Disorder

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Opioid Use Disorder can be used at any point in a patient’s recovery journey, but is most often studied at a point when a patient is actively seeking treatment.

Evidence for the intervention

There is moderate quality and heterogeneous evidence for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Substance Use Disorder (CBT-SUD). Effect sizes tend to be higher for individuals receiving CBT-SUD for cannabis than for opioids or stimulants, and there have been mixed results when examining the effects of CBT-SUD as an adjunct to medication for opioid use disorder (OUD). A systematic review and meta-analysis published in 2020 concluded “the evidence cautiously suggests that for OUD, there may be some benefit to adding non-individual CBT to buprenorphine therapy.” We therefore give this a rating of yellow.

Evidence-based Scale

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Opioid Use Disorder (CBT-OUD) is most often studied at a point when a patient is actively seeking treatment for opioids, at which point they are offered CBT either as a standalone treatment or an adjunct to medication for opioid use disorder. CBT has also been studied as a relapse prevention strategy for substance use in general.