<qa>  What is the main reason for the lack of functional processing in early substance abuse recovery?Taken together, the current literature strongly suggests that verbally-based therapies may have limited utility as a singular form of treatment in early substance abuse recovery, as the brain may not be functionally ready for executive level processing. Instead, the multidisciplinary substance abuse literature suggests that psychosocial treatment methods need to include a range of learning approaches that allow for visual-sensory processing, in addition to traditional verbal-based processing. Integrated multi-modal interventions are needed to offer opportunities for activation of these different brain regions to facilitate cognitive-affective balance in behavioral decision-making. 