Name two evidence-based counseling approaches commonly used in SUD treatment.

• A. Crisis intervention and Client-centered therapy.
• B. Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.
• C. Motivational Interviewing and Psychoanalysis.
• D. Solution-focused brief therapy and Motivational interviewing

Answer: (B)

Two evidence-based counseling approaches commonly used in SUD treatment are Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. Motivational Interviewing helps people explore their own reasons for change in a collaborative, nonjudgmental way, addressing ambivalence to increase readiness to enter and engage in treatment. It relies on empathy, reflective listening, and guiding questions to help clients articulate goals and values, and research shows it improves treatment engagement and initiation of change across diverse populations.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy provides concrete skills to manage thoughts, feelings, and situations that lead to use. It teaches coping strategies, craving management, relapse prevention, and problem-solving, with an emphasis on practicing these skills in real life. A robust evidence base supports CBT’s effectiveness in reducing substance use and improving functioning, and it’s adaptable to individual, group, and digital formats.

Together, MI facilitates motivation and engagement, while CBT supplies the practical tools for lasting change. Other approaches may address crisis or focus on different therapeutic traditions, but they don’t have the same breadth of substance-use–specific evidence for promoting sustained recovery.