Relapse Prevention Strategies for the Treatment of Cocaine Abuse

Abstract

A variety of promising pharmacotherapies, psychotherapies, and other treatments for cocaine abuse have recently been developed, many of which may facilitate the initiation of abstinence in cocaine abusers. This paper describes specific interventions and therapeutic strategies used in the treatment of cocaine abuse, adapted from Marlatt's theory of relapse prevention. These strategies extend Marlatt's primarily psychoeducational approach to address the unique difficulties presented in the treatment of cocaine abuse, which may include wide variations in patients' severity of abuse, available psychosocial resources, and coexistent psychopathology. This approach attempts to integrate relapse prevention techniques into a psychotherapeutic, rather than a purely psychoeducational approach, in order to enhance its effectiveness with cocaine abusers.