Brief Intervention in Addictive Behaviors: Promoting Change

Abstract Most individuals with addictive behaviors either persist in their substance use or do not seek treatment. To address this issue, the present article introduces brief interventions (BIs) as a treatment alternative to promote change. BIs originate from natural recovery research, which explores why some people do not seek treatment and how they manage to change on their own. BIs consist of a set of therapeutic strategies designed primarily to motivate and support individuals in considering changes to behaviors that pose health risks. BIs can be categorized into minimal (3 to 10 minutes of counseling), standard (four very brief sessions), and extended (up to 12 sessions) formats. Research has shown BIs to be effective not only in initiating and sustaining behavior change but also in improving treatment adherence. This article presents some of the key techniques used in BIs, focusing on increasing motivation, conducting a functional analysis of substance use, increasing self-efficacy, and training coping skills to prevent relapse. By normalizing change and making treatment more accessible, BIs play a crucial role in improving treatment effectiveness and its outcomes.