On the Effectiveness of Behavioral Counselling in the Reduction of High-Risk Behaviors and the Improvement of Quality of Life and Control of Craving Beliefs among Individuals with Substance Abuse Disorders

The aim of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of behavioral counseling in the decrease of high-risk behaviors in the promotion of quality of life and control of craving beliefs in substance abusers.
A quasi-experimental method along with pretest/posttest design and control group was used for the conduct of this research. The research sample consisted of 40 males in the age range 20 to 45 years with substance abuse disorder who were selected through criterion-based sampling method and were randomly assigned in two groups, i.e. experimental group (n = 20) and control group (n = 20). Then, the behavioral counseling program for reducing high-risk behaviors was administered to the experimental group for 12 sessions. The control group did not receive any intervention during this period. For data collection purposes, Craving Beliefs Questionnaire and Quality of Life Questionnaire were used.
The results showed that behavioral counseling on the decrease of high-risk behaviors has had a significant effect on the promotion of life quality and the improvement of craving beliefs in experimental group. Moreover, the effectiveness of this method in the one-and-a-half follow-up held a relative stability.
Behavioral counseling on the reduction of high-risk behaviors is an effective method in the control and treatment of drug dependent people and can be used as a psychological intervention program in addiction treatment centers.