ABSTRACT
The nature of substance use disorders (SUD) is lack of control, impulsivity, deterioration, and disorganization. Homework in therapy is the opposite: carefully planned, paced, and building strength. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), uniquely among psychotherapies, created the innovation of homework as a way to improve patients’ progress. Homework has been a mainstay of CBT since its early history in the 1970s (Beck, 1979). Its application to SUD began primarily in the 1990s with a variety of manual-based treatments that have undergone empirical testing over the past decade (Najavits, Liese, & Harned, in press).
