The effectiveness of group cognitive-behavioral therapy on irrational beliefs and self-‌concept among substance ‎abusers

One of the effective therapies for the improvement of people with drug abuse is treatment of addicted cognitive group therapy. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral group therapy on changing irrational beliefs and increasing the self-concept of substance abuse.

The research was a semi-experimental design. The statistical population of the study consisted of all drug addicted men in Ahvaz city in 1397. The sample consisted of 30 subjects (15 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group) who were selected through convenient sampling among addicts referred to addiction treatment centers in Ahwaz, Iran. They were randomly assigned into two experimental and control groups. Both groups were subjected to irrational beliefs questionnaire and self-concept questionnaire. 10 sessions of 60 minutes were subjected to independent variables (cognitive-behavioral therapy. Then, from both groups, a post-test was performed. For analyzing the data, multivariate covariance analysis (MANCOVA) was used.

The results showed that cognitive-behavioral therapy changed the irrational beliefs and increased self-concept in the experimental group.

According to the results of this study, cognitive-behavioral group therapy is effective in changing irrational beliefs and increasing self-concept of people with drug abuse, and this type of treatment can be used to improve the mental status of addicts.