Craving, when viewed as a compelling desire to consume a potentially harmful substance or to engage in a potentially harmful act, has been increasingly targeted for basic research, clinical assessment, and treatment. The management of cravings is a critical component of treatment for self- regulatory problems such as substance and alcohol abuse, overeating, gambling, smoking, or impulsive sexual behavior. The use of technology as an adjunct to traditional treatment is a promising vehicle for the delivery of scientifically sound psychoeducation to large numbers of individuals at relatively low cost. The long-term goal of Phases I and II is the development of the Control Your Cravings Program (CYCP), a web-based, psycho-educational self-help system to supplement treatment for self-regulatory disorders. The CYCP could also serve as a component of a "stepped care" program providing less expensive care first, as a supplement to traditional interventions, and as a relapse prevention tool. The program is likely to be maximally effective when employed in conjunction with face-to-face Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and/or anti-craving medication. The web- based program will be deployed via our Goalistics Self-Management Software (GSMS), a flexible and customizable web-based framework for the delivery of self-management programs.
Public Health Relevance: The long-term goal of the proposed project is the development and testing of the effectiveness of the Control Your Cravings Program (CYCP), a web-based psychoeducational self-help system for adults with self- regulatory problems that involve cravings, such as smoking, overeating, alcohol and substance abuse, or gambling. The program could serve to supplement traditional interventions or as a standalone product. The CYCP is based on fundamental cognitive-behavioral approaches to the management of cravings that have been effectively applied in clinical practice, group interventions, and self-hel books. The CYCP has the potential to provide scientifically sound information to large numbers of individuals at low cost.
Public Health Relevance Statement: The long-term goal of the proposed project is the development and testing of the effectiveness of the Control Your Cravings Program (CYCP), a web-based psychoeducational self-help system for adults with self- regulatory problems that involve cravings, such as smoking, overeating, alcohol and substance abuse, or gambling. The program could serve to supplement traditional interventions or as a standalone product. The CYCP is based on fundamental cognitive-behavioral approaches to the management of cravings that have been effectively applied in clinical practice, group interventions, and self-hel books. The CYCP has the potential to provide scientifically sound information to large numbers of individuals at low cost.
NIH Spending Category: Behavioral and Social Science; Brain Disorders; Clinical Research; Drug Abuse (NIDA only); Substance Abuse
Project Terms: addiction; Address; Adult; Alcohol abuse; Alcohol dependence; Area; base; Basic Science; Behavioral; Books; Businesses; Caring; Case Study; Clinical assessments; clinical practice; Code; Cognitive; Cognitive Therapy; Computer software; cost; cost effective; craving; Cues; Data Base Management; Databases; design; Development; Disease; disorder later incidence prevention; Drug Addiction; Eating Disorders; Educational process of instructing; Effectiveness; emotion regulation; experience; flexibility; Fostering; Functional disorder; Gambling; Goals; group intervention; Hyperphagia; Image; Individual; innovation; Intervention; Learning; Maintenance; Monitor; Multimedia; Nature; Online Systems; Outcome; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Phase; Process; Program Reviews; programs; psychoeducation; psychoeducational; self help; Self Management; Sex Behavior; skills; Smoking; Social Network; software development; sound; stress management; Substance abuse problem; Support Groups; Surveys; System; Technology; Testing; Text; Therapeutic; Thinking, function; tool; Training
