Studying how cognitive-behavioral therapy affects the mental health of people seeking methadone treatment in Kerman addiction centers, Iran
The effect of CBT on mental health
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Drug addiction is a chronic and relapsing disorder in which compulsive drug-seeking behavior and drug use continue despite serious negative consequences. The purpose of the present research is to examine the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) on the psychological well-being of individuals seeking methadone treatment at addiction treatment centers in the city of Kerman, Iran.
METHODS: This is an applied study with a quasi-experimental design consisting of a control and an experimental group. The statistical population of the study included all individuals dependent on substances who sought addiction treatment at an addiction treatment center in Kerman City during the winter of 2021. The number of participants was decided using purposeful sampling, with 10 individuals selected for each group in the experimental study. Following a 10-week CBT intervention administered once a week to the experimental group, the participants were evaluated again using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods, such as analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), using SPSS software.
RESULTS: The ANCOVA revealed a significant difference in the psychological well-being variable between the experimental and control groups in the posttest, with a value of F1,27 = 17.98 (P < 0.01). In other words, psychological well-being was significantly higher in the experimental group compared to the control group after CBT sessions (P < 0.01).
CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of this study, the utilization of CBT along with methadone treatment significantly enhances the effectiveness of pharmacological therapy and prevention of opioid relapse.
References
Ye X, Liu R. Intervention Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Physical Fitness, Emotional State and Mental Health of Drug Addicts: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023; 20(3).
Li J, Wang R, He J, Wang L, Li L. Comparison of the effect of hostility on the level of depression of drug addicts and non-addicts and the mediating role of sense of life meaning between them. BMC Psychiatry. 2023; 23(1): 350.
Nojavan Kanmiran N, Soleimani I, Issazadegan A. The efficacy of compassion therapy intervention on lifestyle and emotional processing of addicts in the non-drug rehabilitation phase. Journal of Psychological Science. 2022; 21(119): 2123-44.
Ceceli AO, Bradberry CW, Goldstein RZ. The neurobiology of drug addiction: cross-species insights into the dysfunction and recovery of the prefrontal cortex. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2022; 47(1): 276-91.
Clemente-Suárez VJ, Ruisoto P, Isorna-Folgar M, Cancelo-Martínez J, Beltrán-Velasco AI, Tornero-Aguilera JF. Psychophysiological and Psychosocial Profile of Patients Attending Drug Addiction Centers. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2022; 47(2): 77-84.
He J, Yan X, Wang R, Zhao J, Liu J, Zhou C, et al. Does Childhood Adversity Lead to Drug Addiction in Adulthood? A Study of Serial Mediators Based on Resilience and Depression. Front Psychiatry. 2022; 13: 871459.
Sari DN, qolbi Ruzain RB, Fadhlia TN. The relationship between family social support and the resilience of former drug addicts. Indonesian Journal of Economics, Social, and Humanities. 2023; 5(1): 43-53.
Geng P, Fan N, Ling R, Guo H, Lu Q, Chen X. The role of auditory and visual cues in the perception of Mandarin emotional speech in male drug addicts. Speech Communication. 2023; 155: 103000.
Bagheriniya E, Safara M, Karami A, Makvand-Hosseini S. The Effectiveness of Problem-oriented (Solution–Focused Therapy) Treatment in the Spiritual, Cognitive, Behavioral and Emotional Dimensions of the Psychological Health of Addict. Journal of Pizhūhish dar dīn va salāmat. 2022; 8(2): 136-49.
Bouchard L, Meunier S. Promoting remote workers' psychological health: Effective management practices during the COVID‐19 crisis. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences/Revue Canadienne des Sciences de l'Administration. 2023; 40(1): 6-17.
Zhou SJ, Zhang LG, Wang LL, Guo ZC, Wang JQ,
Chen JC, et al. Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of psychological health problems in Chinese adolescents during the outbreak of COVID-19. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2020; 29(6): 749-58.
Marmet S, Studer J, Wicki M, Bertholet N, Khazaal Y, Gmel G. Unique versus shared associations between self-reported behavioral addictions and substance use disorders and mental health problems: A commonality analysis in a large sample of young Swiss men. J Behav Addict. 2019; 8(4): 664-77.
Jones CM, McCance-Katz EF. Co-occurring substance use and mental disorders among adults with opioid use disorder. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2019; 197: 78-82.
Szerman N, Parro-Torres C, Didia-Attas J, El-Guebaly N. Dual disorders: addiction and other mental disorders. Integrating mental health. Advances in psychiatry. 2019: 109-27.
Richert T, Anderberg M, Dahlberg M. Mental health problems among young people in substance abuse treatment in Sweden. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2020; 15(1): 43.
Li C, Song G. A Qualitative Study of Drug Treatment Conformity Behavior among Young Drug Users Who Are in Recovery in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022; 19(22): 14832.
Yuan S, Wu H, Wu Y, Xu H, Yu J, Zhong Y, et al. Neural Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review and Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis. Front Psychol. 2022; 13: 853804.
Li X, Laplante DP, Paquin V, Lafortune S, Elgbeili G, King S. Effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for perinatal maternal depression, anxiety and stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Clin Psychol Rev. 2022; 92: 102129.
Li J, Li X, Jiang J, Xu X, Wu J, Xu Y, et al. The Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Patients With COVID-19: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Front Psychiatry. 2020; 11: 580827.
Perrotta D, Perri RL. Mini-review: When neurostimulation joins cognitive-behavioral therapy. On the need of combining evidence-based treatments for addiction disorders. Neurosci Lett. 2022; 777: 136588.
Gautam M, Tripathi A, Deshmukh D, Gaur M. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression. Indian J Psychiatry. 2020; 62(Suppl 2): S223-s9.
Sarmad Z, Bazargan A, Hejazy E. Research methods in behaviuor Science. Tehran, Iran: Agah Publication; 2004. p. 132-7.
Baker A, Lee NK, Claire M, Lewin TJ, Grant T, Pohlman S, et al. Brief cognitive behavioural interventions for regular amphetamine users: a step in the right direction. Addiction. 2005; 100(3): 367-78.
Goldberg DP, Hillier VF. A scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire. Psychological medicine. 1979; 9(1): 139-45.
Taghavi S. The normalization of general health questionnaire for Shiraz University students (GHQ-28). Clinical Psychology and Personality. 2008; 6(1): 1-12.
Pourpashang M, Mousavi S. The effects of group schema therapy on psychological wellbeing and resilience in patients under substance dependence treatment. Journal of Client-Centered Nursing Care. 2021; 7(2): 159-66.
Ray LA, Meredith LR, Kiluk BD, Walthers J, Carroll KM, Magill M. Combined pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy for adults with alcohol
or substance use disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA network open. 2020; 3(6): e208279-e.
Kamarzarin H, Golestani E. The effectiveness of CBT on methadone consumption and general health in Opium addicts. Iranian Journal of Health Psychology. 2019; 2(2): 81-8.
Kiluk BD, DeVito EE, Buck MB, Hunkele K, Nich C, Carroll KM. Effect of computerized cognitive behavioral therapy on acquisition of coping skills among cocaine-dependent individuals enrolled in methadone maintenance. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2017; 82: 87-92.
Alamdarloo GH, Khorasani SM, Najafi M, Jabbari FS, Shojaee S. The effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy on depression, anxiety, and stress levels in Iranian males with addiction. Sage open. 2019; 9(1): 2158244018824466.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Chronic Diseases Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
