The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Self-Compassion and Self-Criticism in Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder

Substance use disorder is one of the chronic and debilitating disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on self-compassion and self-criticism in individuals with opioid use disorder.

The present study was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design with a control group. Thirty people with opioid use disorder referred to Granmehr and Game-no addiction treatment centers in Mashhad were selected by convenience sampling method and were randomly placed into two experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. The participants in the experimental group received acceptance and commitment therapy for 8 sessions, but the participants in the control group did not receive any treatment. Participants responded to the self-compassion scale and the self-criticism scale. The data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA).

The results showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the variables of self-compassion and self-criticism. In other words, acceptance and commitment therapy was effective in increasing self-compassion and reducing self-criticism in individuals with opioid use disorder.

The results of this study suggest that therapists and other mental health professionals can use acceptance and commitment therapy to improve self-compassion and self-criticism in individuals with opioid use disorder.