Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Training based on Grass Model in the Reduction of Craving and Depression after Withdrawal among Methamphetamine-dependent Individuals

Objective: Individuals with addiction to stimulant drugs have difficulty in proper employment of emotions due to the misconception of their feelings and, thereby, these difficulties in emotion regulation lead to substance use. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of emotion regulation training based on Grass model in the reduction of craving and depression after withdrawal among methamphetamine-dependent individuals. Method: The current study employed a quasi-experimental research design along with pre-test/post-test and control group. The methamphetamine-dependent patients presenting to Omid Pooya addiction treatment clinic in Tehran in 2016 constituted the statistical population of this study. A sample of 30 participants was selected via convenience sampling method and, then, 15 subjects were assigned to the experimental group and 15 subjects were assigned to the control group at random. The experimental group received emotion regulation training based on Grass model, but the control group did not receive any training. The data were collected by means of Instantaneous Craving Questionnaire and Depression Questionnaire (Lovibond, 1995). Results: The results of this study showed that emotion regulation training based on Grass model is effective in decreasing craving and depression after withdrawal among methamphetamine-dependent patients (p <0.01). Conclusion: According to the research findings, difficulty in emotion regulation is one of the problems of methamphetamine-dependent patients and teaching how to express and manage emotions can help them reduce craving and depression after addiction withdrawal.