Cognitive behavioral therapy for improving mental health in substance-related disorder

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Created On: 16/03/2024

Population and aging contribute to a rise in substance use disorder (SUD), impacting mental health. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) investigated the efficacy of short-term cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in improving the general health of people who use opioids.

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Key take away

Implementing short-term psychological treatment - Cognitive behavioral therapy for individuals with substance use disorder proves useful in addressing insomnia and anxiety, especially among opiate drug users.

Background

Method

Forty opioid users whose addiction was diagnosed by a psychiatrist were randomly split into two groups comprising 20 patients each:

Control group: Mean age of patients was 37.95 ± 7.64; they were subjected to methadone maintenance therapy (MMT)
Treatment group: Mean age of patients was 43.85 ± 9.92; they were given 4 sessions of CBT + MMT

Both groups completed the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) at the study's onset and conclusion. IBM SPSS version 26 was employed for the analysis of the data, utilizing statistical tests, such as chi-square, t-test, Mann-Whitney, etc. A significance threshold of P<0.05 was used for all tests.

Result

No substantial difference was noted in terms of levels of education and gender. There were statistical differences between both groups in terms of marital status and employment (p = 0.025 and 0.002). While there were no significant differences in the GHQ-28 subclasses and total scores between the groups, exceptions were noted for anxiety and sleeplessness (insomnia) in the treatment group (p = 0.038). Following the treatment, a Likert scoring with 23 points cut off revealed no statistically noteworthy distinction concerning psychotic disorder in the treatment group.

Conclusion

Short-term CBT has a positive impact on mental health, specifically addressing anxiety and sleep disorders. However, the treatment does not establish noteworthy effects on depression, somatic symptoms, and social dysfunction in the patients.