The Effectiveness of Group Therapy Based on Acceptance and Commitment to Reduce Obsessive-Compulsive Use of Substance, Anxiety and Depression of Addicts under Methadone Treatment

Background and Objective: The third wave of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) including acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) embraces new approaches and methods potentially capable of addressing complex cases of substance abuse. It seems that the third wave of (CBT) emphasizing mindfulness and psychological resilience are effective in the rehabilitation of addicts undergoing methadone treatment.The present study intended to assess the effectiveness of group therapy based on acceptance and commitment in reducing the obsessive-compulsive use of substance, anxiety and depression of addicts under methadone treatment. Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, the statistical population included all addicted men who received methadone treatment in Zanjan in 1983-94. A sample of 30 patients was selected through convenience sampling & randomly assigned into two groups, intervention and control. The intervention group participated in 8 sessions of 90-minute group therapy based on acceptance and commitment. Obsessive-compulsive use of substance and anxiety/depression questionnaires were completed in the form of a pre-test, a post-test and a quarterly follow-up period in both groups. Results: Group therapy based on acceptance and commitment effectively reduced the obsessive-compulsive use of substance, anxiety and depression (P <0.05).The effectiveness of this intervention in increasing physical health was not statistically significant (P> 0.05). The effect of group therapy based on acceptance and commitment was substantial in comparison to the control group in the post-test phase regarding the obsessive-compulsive use of substance (1.04), anxiety (1.63) and depression (1.6), furthermore, these effects remained stable over a quarterly follow-up period. Conclusion: The present study showed that acceptance and commitment therapy is effective in decreasing obsessive-compulsive use of substance, anxiety and depression.Therefore, acceptance and commitment therapy can be used as an effective intervention for psychological disorders associated with drug abuse in methadone-treated patients.