Effectiveness of Therapeutic Community in Executive Functions and Autobiographical Memory in People with Addiction to Stimulants

The present study was an attempt to examine the effectiveness of therapeutic community in executive functions and autobiographical memory in people with addiction to stimulants. This study was conducted based on a quasi-experimental research design along with pretest and posttest. From among the male stimulant users who had referred to Vardij medical center of Tehran therapeutic community, the number of 27 participants was selected via purposive sampling after the consideration of inclusion and exclusion criteria. From admission to end treatment stage of people in this center (4-month treatment), Wisconsin test, Stroop test, tower of London test, digit span, and autobiographical memory questionnaire were used for data collection. The results of the study showed that therapeutic community significantly improved scores Wisconsin, Stroop, tower of London and digit span tests, as well as scores of specific autobiographical memories. Based on the effects of etiology, treatment and prevention of executive functions and autobiographical memory on addiction, it is recommended to use therapeutic community in treatment interventions and addiction relapse.