The effectiveness of CBT on methadone consumption and general health in Opium addicts

Background: The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of CBT therapy on methadone consumption and general health of opium addicts before and after the intervention. Methods: The study population included all men aged ۲۰ to ۴۰ who were addicted to drugs and used the counseling services of addiction treatment centers in Tehran. The study sample included ۳۰ addicted men who were selected using the available method and were counseled at Mofarrah addiction treatment center every day for six months. Subjects were divided into two experimental and control groups randomly and each group included ۱۵ subjects. In this study, the index of opiate treatment (OTI) and the Goldberg's general health (GHQ) questionnaires were used to collect data. Descriptive, univariate covariance and multivariate covariance tests were used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that cognitive-behavioral therapy had a significant effect on increasing general health characteristics (p <۰/۰۵), as well as reducing the desire to use drugs in patients undergoing methadone treatment (p <۰/۰۵). Conclusions: According to the findings, it can be concluded that the cognitive-behavioral therapy has therapeutic benefits for addicts that can lead to a reduction in drug use and temptation to consume. Besides, CBT by increasing appropriate coping strategies, improves their general and mental health.