Contingency Management: Applied Behavior Analysis's Evidence-Based Contribution to Substance Use Treatment

: Contingency management is frequently discussed in substance use treatment literature without being recognized as what it is: a direct, field-native application of operant conditioning and the three-term contingency. This CEU positions contingency management as applied behavior analysis's own technology of change, not a technique borrowed from another discipline. It reviews the evidence base supporting contingency management, including its standing as the only treatment with significant evidence of effectiveness as a standalone approach for stimulant use disorder, for which no FDA-approved medication currently exists. The CEU also examines contingency management's move into practice outside traditional research settings, including its delivery through smartphone-based digital health platforms, and what that shift means for how BCBAs might design, evaluate, or consult on behavior change programs going forward.

1. 11. Describe contingency management as a direct application of operant conditioning and the three-term contingency. 2. Identify the evidence base for contingency management in the treatment of stimulant use disorder, including its status as the only standalone treatment with significant supporting evidence. 3. Describe how contingency management is currently being delivered through both traditional and digital health platforms outside of traditional research or clinic settings.