My experience was that dealing with cravings evolved over sobriety time.
I was severely sick when I entered rehab and did a medical detox. Rehab was very 12 step focused, but my counselor didn't feel like 12 Step was the only way and supported my lack of enthusiasm. However, beating pretty severe physical addiction and withdrawal took being in a place where I had no access to alcohol or drugs for five weeks. I was told by my doctors that not detoxing was extremely dangerous, and I absolutely believed that.
So five weeks in...there was an 8 week wait for outpatient rehab, which was cognitive based and dovetailed very nicely with AVRT principles. It's short term and there's an end date, it mostly gives tools to deal with cravings and underlying mental illness, in my case bipolar disorder. During that 8 weeks I didn't put myself in social situations with alcohol and went to 12 Step meetings sporadically. The latter gave me something to do, but also cemented my realization that 12 Step wasn't for me.
I had a breakthrough during my inpatient therapy where I successfully resisted a very strong craving, and realized that I had people to call to help me get through them. However, I didn't actually call anyone. It was at that point that I realized that both the decision to completely take alcohol off the table AND how damned good I felt not drinking was enough.
This was about 4 months into sobriety. After that I didn't much worry about social situations with alcohol, because I simply didn't drink anymore. I also don't resent people who can have a drink or two and then stop, people who never feel that they NEED to drink or use. I'm just not one of them.
So yes, it did change. I haven't seriously fought with a craving or considered drinking since that episode, and won't.