comparing acceptance and commitment group therapy and 12-steps narcotics anonymous in addict’s rehabilitation process: a randomized controlled trial

objective: substance abuse is a socio-psychological disorder. the aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy with 12-steps narcotics anonymous on psychological well-being of opiate dependent individuals in addiction treatment centers in shiraz, iran. method: this was a randomized controlled trial. data were collected at entry into the study and at post-test and follow-up visits. the participants were selected from opiate addicted individuals who referred to addiction treatment centers in shiraz. sixty individuals were evaluated according to inclusion/ exclusion criteria and were divided into three equal groups randomly (20 participants per group). one group received acceptance and commitment group therapy (twelve 90-minute sessions) and the other group was provided with the 12-steps narcotics anonymous program and the control group received the usual methadone maintenance treatment. during the treatment process, seven participants dropped out. data were collected using the psychological well-being questionnaire and aaq questionnaire in the three groups at pre-test, post-test and follow-up visits. data were analyzed using repeated measure analysis of variance. results: repeated measure analysis of variance revealed that the mean difference between the three groups was significant (p<0.05) and that acceptance and commitment therapy group showed improvement relative to the na and control groups on psychological well-being and psychological flexibility. conclusion : the results of this study revealed that acceptance and commitment therapy can be helpful in enhancing positive emotions and increasing psychological well-being of addicts who seek treatment.