Desire Thinking: A New Target for Treatment of Addictive Behaviors?

© 2016 International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy.Behavioral and cognitive therapies for addictive behaviors have shown clinical utility, however, many patients continue to experience residual symptoms, particularly craving, a major precipitating factor in relapse. We review a desire-related cognitive elaboration, termed desire thinking, which has been found to play an important role in the perpetuation and escalation of both craving and addictive behaviors. We argue that novel treatment approaches, rooted in metacognitive therapy, may help to interrupt the perseveration of desire thinking and improve the well-being of populations suffering from addictive behaviors.