Treatment Programs
The treatments and therapy programs noted below have been selected from a broad array of available programs and treatment modalities. For a complete list of evidence based programs see SAMHSA's National Registry. The list below is focused on outpatient and computer-based programs that are applicable to a college-aged population. Many, if not most, of these programs have been or could be implemented by university counseling centers.
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT); Cognitive Behaviroral Therapy (CBT); Computer-Based CBT, Beating the Blues (BtB); Coordinated Anxiety Learning and Management (CALM) Tools for Living Program; Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT); Drinker's Check-up (DCU); Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR); Emotional Brain Training (EBT); Hypnotherapy; In Shape, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT); Mindful Noggin; Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR); Moderate Drinking and Moderation Management; Mood Gym; Motivational Interviewing (MI); Panic Control Treatment (PCT); Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD; Psychodynamic Therapy; Relapse Prevention Therapy (RPT); Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT); Solution-Focused Group Therapy (SFGT); Supportive-Expressive Psychotherapy (SE); Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving (STEPPS); TCU (Texas Christian University) Mapping-Enhanced Counseling; Training for Intervention ProcedureS (TIPS) for the University; Transtheoretical Model (TTM)-Based Stress Management Program; Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy (TARGET); Trauma Recover and Empowerment Model (TREM); Trauma-Focused CBT; Traumatic Incident Reduction; Twelve Step Faciliation Therapy (TSF); Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP)
Name and Brief Description | On SAMSHA National Registry of Evidence Based Programs and Practices? | Treatment Applications | Web Links | Cost to Implement |
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): This form of therapy draws from cognitive behavioral psychotherapy and mindfulness practice. It is known as a "contextual psychotherapy" which focuses on increasing a client's psychological flexibility (ability to engage in values-based positive behaviors while experiencing difficult thoughts, emotions, or sensations). | Yes | A Wide Range of Issues and Problems | Dependent on training choices. Negligible for book learning. Cost of supervision, conferences, etc. would vary. | |
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes the importance of our thoughts in how we feel and what we do. CBT is generally considered to be briefer than other forms of therapy (average of about 16 sessions), and is focused on client learning and therapist-client collaboration. It is based on the idea that our thoughts (not our circumstances) cause our feelings and behaviors. It is a structured and directive form of therapy that involves education and client homework. CBT is a general approach that includes several more specific forms of therapy, including: Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, Rational Behavior Therapy, Rational Living Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, and Dialectic Behavior Therapy. | Yes, in various programs |
A Wide Range of Issues and Problems | Dependent on training choices. Negligible for book learning. Cost of conferences, supervision, etc. would vary. | |
Computer-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Beating the Blues (BtB): This is a computer-delivered series of cognitive behavioral therapy sessions for adults with mild to moderate depression and/or anxiety, as determined by an outpatient screening using a standardized instrument. | Yes | Depression and/or Anxiety | NREPP page | Over $5000; requires on-site training |
Coordinated Anxiety Learning and Management (CALM) Tools for Living Program: This program is focused on reducing the symptoms of anxiety and depression and improving functioning of clients aged 18-75. This outpatient program is based on a collaborative care model and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). | Yes | Depression and/or Anxiety | NREPP page | $395 to $495 for off-site training in Seattle, WA + $495 annual license fee per clinician |
Name and Brief Description |
Listed on NREPP? |
Treatment Applications |
Web Links |
Cost to Implement |
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): A form of cognitive-behavioral therapy which focuses on behavioral problem solving combined with acceptance-based strategies and dialectical processes. DBT consists of four main components: mindfulness training, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal skills training. DBT was developed by psychology researcher Marsha M. Linehan at the University of Washington. | Yes | A Wide Range of Issues & Problems, including Borderline Personality Disorder, Eating Disorders, and Addictions | Contact developer | |
Drinker’s Check-up (DCU): This intervention is computer-based and is designed to help problem drinkers reduce their alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences. The program targets individuals along the continuum of problem drinking from hazardous use (e.g., binge drinking college students) to alcohol dependence (e.g., individuals presenting for specialized alcohol treatment). | Yes | Problematic Alcohol Use & Alcohol-Related Consequences | NREPP page | $500 minimum |
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): A form of psychotherapy that is designed to reduce trauma-related stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms associated with posttraumatic stress disorder and to improve overall mental health functioning. | Yes | PTSD primarily, but has been used more broadly | NREPP page | Varies |
Emotional Brain Training (EBT): targets the individual’s handling of acute and chronic stress in order to improve issues with mood, relationships, behavior and health. EBT draws from neuroscience research, attachment theory, and stress science and focuses on changing the brain’s wiring in order to improve func-tioning. Clients are taught to recognize and change their brain state with the help of “coaching” and to make healthy lifestyle choices that support the emotional brain. | No | A Wide Range of Issues & Problems, though EBT has its origins in food addic-tions/obesity treatment and research. | EBT website | Weekly participant telegroup is $220/month; consult the website for the cost to become certified as a trainer. |
Name and Brief Description |
Listed on NREPP? |
Treatment Applications |
Web Links |
Cost to Implement |
Hynpotherapy: A technique that uses guided relaxation, intense concentration, and focused attention to reach a state of heightened awareness (or trance). During this state, a person can focus her/his attention on specific thoughts or tasks and can block out distractions. Hypnosis can be used to uncover material that has been blocked from conscious memory (such as a traumatic event) as well as for helping someon to change certain behaviors (e.g., smoking) or their perceptions and sensations (e.g., pain). Hynpnosis is often used in conjunction with psychotherapy. | No | Well-known for use with smoking cessation, weight loss and pain management, but utility extends to treating a variety of behavioral, physical and psychological conditions. | American Society of Clinical Hypnosis Hynpotherapy Training Institute
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Possibilites for training and certification vary. Hypnotherapy Training Institute charges $975 per course level. Hypnotherapy Certification possible at Level 4. Cost of 2 year certification is $175. |
InShape: A brief intervention designed to reduce drug abuse and increase positive mental and physical health outcomes among college students ages 18-25. The intervention incorporates naturally motivating social images and future self-images to help young adults think about and plan positive changes in their lives. | Yes | Drug Abuse Reduction | NREPP page | $499+ |
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): A program for adults with recurrent major depressive disorder. MBCT combines Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and cognitive behavior therapy for depression. | Yes | Depression | NREPP page | $1045+ (requires 5 day, off-site training) |
Mindful Noggin: Offers online training courses to mental health practioners in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy interventions. | No | Depression and Anxiety | MindfulNoggin | $180 to $360 for the first 3 months depending on course. Consult website for details. |
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR): A form of psychoeducational training for adolescents and adults with emotional or psychological distress due to medical conditions, physical pain, or life events. The aim is to reduce stress and anxiety symptoms, negative mood-related feelings, and depression symptoms, as well as to increase self-esteem and improve general mental health and functioning. | Yes | Broad application (emotional / psychological distress) | NREPP page | $1560+ (requires 7 day training) |
Name and Brief Description |
Listed on NREPP? |
Treatment Applications |
Web Links |
Cost to Implement |
Moderate Drinking and Moderation Management: These are complementary online interventions de-signed for nondependent, heavy-drinking adults who want to reduce the number of days on which they drink, their peak alcohol use on days they drink, and their alcohol-related problems. | Yes | Problem Drinking | $19.95/month or $59/year for web subscription | |
MoodGym: A free online program that aims to reduce mild to moderate symptoms of depression in adults by teaching them the principles of cognitive behavior therapy. The program is made up of five 20– to 40– minute modules, an interactive game, anxiety and depression assessments, a downloadable relaxation audio file, an online workbook for users to record their responses to quizzes and exercises and track their progress through the program, and a feedback assessment. | Yes | Depression (mild to moderate) | Free | |
Motivational Interviewing (MI): A goal-directed and client-centered counseling approach for eliciting behavioral change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence. | Yes | Substance Abuse, but applicable to a variety of issues where ambivalence is a problem | NREPP page | $40 for book; additional training would vary |
Panic Control Treatment (PCT): A manualized, individual cognitive-behavioral treatment for adults with panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia. The goal is to help clients become panic-free by learning how to anticipate and respond to situations that trigger their panic attacks and managing the physical symptoms of panic using techniques such as controlled breathing. | Yes | Panic Disorder (with or without Agoraphobia) | NREPP page | $48 for therapist guide; $32/each for client work-books |
Name and Brief Description |
Listed on NREPP? |
Treatment Applications |
Web Links |
Cost to Implement |
Prolonged Exposure (PE) Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorders: A cognitive-behavioral treatment program for ages 18-65+ who have experienced single or multiple/continuous traumas and have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). | Yes | Trauma | NREPP page | $1100+ for on-site training |
Psychodynamic Therapy: An insight-oriented therapy that focuses on unconscious processes as they are manifested in a person's behavior. The goal is to increase the client's self-awareness and understanding regarding how aspects of his/her past have influenced their present day choices and behaviors. There are several different forms of psychodynamic therapy, including brief treatment models (e.g., see "Time-Limited Psychdynamic Psychotherapy). The theory supporting sychodynamic therapy has its origins in psychoanalytic theory. The four schools of psychoanaltic thought include: Freudian, Ego Psychology, Object Relations, and Self-Psychology. While few professionals today practice an exclusive form of psychodynamic therapy, many use components of psychodynamic theories to inform their work. | No Research generally supports the efficacy of these approaches. |
A Wide Range of Issues & Problems | Varies. Many clinicians receive training during the course of their advanced education. Post-degree learning possible through books, conferences, clinical consulation and supervision, etc. | |
Relapse Prevention Therapy (RPT): A behavioral self-control program that teaches individuals with sub-stance addiction how to anticipate and cope with the potential for relapse. RPT can be used as a stand-alone treatment program or as an aftercare program to sustain gains achieved during initial substance use treatment. | Yes | Substance Use Disorders | NREPP page | Contact developer; most costs appear to be optional |
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT): A therapy that is based on social constructionist philosophy and that is focused on present and future goals and behaviors. Clients are aided in identifying positive directions for change in their life and to attend to changes currently in process they wish to continue. SFBT practice includes use of miracle questions, exception questions, coping questions, scaling questions, time-out, accolades, and task (acronym MECSTAT). SFBT was developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg and their colleagues beginning in the late 1970s. | Yes, but specifically as a group approach (see below) Considered evidence-based. |
A Wide Range of Issues & Problems | There are many good books on Solution-Focused Therapy under $100. Cost of Certification is unclear. International Solution-Focused Practitioner Cerficate requires an advanced clinical degree, 50 hours of direct training and 100 hours of personal and professional practice training activities, and passage of an exam. |
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Name and Brief Description |
Listed on NREPP? |
Treatment Applications |
Web Links |
Cost to Implement |
Solution-Focused Group Therapy (SFGT): A strengths-based group intervention for clients in treatment for mental or substance use disorders that focuses on building solutions to reach desired goals. | Yes | Substance Use Disorders or Other Mental Health Issues | NREPP page | Varies |
Supportive-Expressive Psychotherapy (SE): An analytically oriented, time-limited form of focal psycho-therapy that has been adapted for use with individuals with heroin and cocaine addiction. Emphasis is given to themes related to drug dependence, the role of drugs in relation to problem feelings and behav-iors, and alternative, drug-free means of resolving problems. | Yes | Heroine and Cocaine Ad-diction | NREPP page | $20 for manual |
Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving (STEPPS): A manual-based group treatment for adults diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The program aims to improve BPD-related symptoms, mood, impulsivity, and global functioning through a combination of cognitive-behavioral methods, psychoeducation, and skills training. | Yes | Borderline Personality Disorder | NREPP page | $60 for manual |
TCU (Texas Christian University) Mapping-Enhanced Counseling: A communication and decision-making technique designed to support delivery of treatment services by improving client and counselor interactions through graphic visualization tools that focus on critical issues and recovery strategies. | Yes | Substance Abuse and Co-occurring Disorders | NREPP page | Free |
Name and Brief Description |
Listed on NREPP? |
Treatment Applications |
Web Links |
Cost to Implement |
Training for Intervention ProcedureS (TIPS) for the University: Designed to help college students to make safe, sound decisions regarding their own high-risk drinking behavior and enable them to intervene to prevent this high-risk behavior among their peers and friends. | Yes | High-risk Drinking Behaviors (Prevention and Treatment) | NREPP page | $225+ for training |
Transtheoretical Model (TTM)-Based Stress Management Program: aims to improve the stress manage-ment of those who have not been practicing effective stress management for 6 months or longer. TTM is a theory of behavior change that can be applied to single, multiple, and complex behavioral targets. It comes out of Penn State University. TTM is a self-directed computer program that uses five steps to help adults make a steady and individualized switch from unhealthy to healthy behaviors. | Yes | Stress Management / Mental health Promotion | Varies | |
Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy (TARGET): A strengths-based approach to education and therapy for survivors of physical, sexual, psychological, and emotional trauma. TARGET teaches a set of seven skills (focus, recognize triggers, emotion self-check, evaluate thoughts, define goals, options, and make a contribution) that can be used by trauma survivors to regulate extreme emo-tion states, manage intrusive trauma memories, promote self-efficacy, and achieve lasting recovery from trauma. | Yes | Trauma and Co-Occurring Substance Use | NREPP page | Over $6000; requires on-site trainings |
Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Model (TREM): A manualized group-based intervention designed to facilitate trauma recovery among women with histories of exposure to sexual and physical abuse. | Yes | Female Survivors of Sexual and/or Physical Abuse | NREPP page | $30 manual; optional on-site training available $4000+ |
Name and Brief Description |
Listed on NREPP? |
Treatment Applications |
Web Links |
Cost to Implement |
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT): A psychosocial treatment model designed to treat posttraumatic stress and related emotional and behavioral problems in children, adolescents, and adults. | Yes | Trauma | NREPP page | Varies; requires on-site training & consultation calls |
Traumatic Incident Reduction: A brief, memory-based, therapeutic intervention for those who have ex-perienced crime-related and/or interpersonal violence, war, disasters, torture, childhood abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, traumatic bereavement, or other severe or shocking events. | Yes | Trauma | NREPP page | Over $400; requires training and supervision to become certified |
Twelve Step Facilitation Therapy (TSF): A brief, structured, and manual-driven approach to facilitating early recovery from alcohol abuse, alcoholism, and other drug abuse and addiction problems. TSF is implemented with individual clients over 12 to 15 sessions. | Yes | Substance Abuse and Addiction | NREPP page | $329 for curriculum; on or off-site training is optional |
Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP): A manualized group intervention for adults with mental illness. Aims to help clients identify and understand their personal wellness resources and then helps them develop an individualized plan to use these resources on a daily basis to manage their mental illness. | Yes | Mental Illness | NREPP page | $129 for curriculum; $10/each for action plan books + additional costs for books/videos. |