Motivation in Addiction Treatment

There are basically three types of motivation in addiction treatment. One is to avoid unpleasant consequences through compliance. These clients are usually pushed hard to get into treatment, and they’re the most likely to return to their drug of choice. Another form of motivation is calculation — a person has calculated the costs and benefits of drinking and using drugs and has concluded that stopping will be a better choice. The third form of motivation is existential — the person has committed to addiction treatment because life in addiction has become miserable, hopeless and precarious. These last two forms of motivation are stronger than the first with the last being the strongest.

Although addicts who’re forced into treatment by the courts, family, spouse, etc., can and do recover, they usually have to go through more trouble before the desire to change is deep and meaningful. I’ve seen clients who’re forced kicking and screaming into treatment turn around and realize they have a problem. Most of us working in the field for a lengthy period of time have come to realize that it’s almost impossible to tell who’ll recover and who won’t, but the odds are not favorable for the person who’s in treatment just because someone holds leverage over the person. You’ll often hear people say about addiction treatment and recovery that the person has to want to stop drinking or using some other drug in order to recover. A desire to stop is not necessary in the beginning. I’ve seen people forced into treatment with no intentions of stopping have an epiphany and recover long term, and I’ve seen people who desperately wanted to recover never stop for any long length of time and eventually die from their addiction. Nothing has hurt the addict more than for people to tell him/her that they aren’t trying hard enough, and that if they just put their mind to it, they could stop drinking alcohol or using cocaine or shooting up heroin.

The person who rationally looks at their addiction and decides the costs of using drugs outweigh any benefits are at least motivated, but if addiction recovery were as simple as calculation, most people would stop long before the late stages of addiction. Calculation can be strong enough to get a person into recovery, but there usually has to be something stronger keeping a person in recovery or they go back to the drug of choice after the bad memories fade and the calculation changes. Perhaps the person has bad fortune in recovery and loses their job in a bad economy — the person who’s only calculating the costs and benefits might say that recovery is not “paying off”.

The point is that a desire to stop is a good motivator, but not necessary to start the treatment process. Having a desire to stop, though, doesn’t guarantee recovery, especially if the person is quitting with the expectations that life will be trouble free without addiction. Addicts forced into treatment can and do recover, and addicts who initially decide to deal with addiction and recover can and do die from their addiction. What usually determines if a person recovers or not is their level of ongoing commitment to the long term process of recovery. The main form of motivation in addiction treatment that enhances long term recovery is internal commitment. When a person has truthfully admitted that addiction is a life-threatening problem and has committed to taking steps to achieve and maintain recovery, regardless of external circumstances or obstacles, then the motivation is real enough to sustain long term change and growth.