The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Cognitive Flexibility and Craving in Substance-Dependent Individuals

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on cognitive flexibility and craving in substance-dependent individuals.

The present study was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population of this study included all individuals with substance abuse who referred to Azadi addiction treatment center in Ardabil in 2019. Among them, 30 individuals were selected by convenience sampling and randomly assigned into two experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. In the pretest and posttest stages, both groups answered the cognitive flexibility questionnaire and the post-detoxification craving scale. The experimental group received eight sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy and the control group did not receive any intervention. Data were analyzed based on multivariate analysis of covariance.

The results showed that acceptance and commitment therapy significantly increased one of the components of cognitive flexibility (including the perception of different options component) in the experimental group, but it had no significant effect on other components of cognitive flexibility including controllability perception and behavior justification perception. Also, this intervention reduced craving in the experimental group.

The results showed that acceptance and commitment therapy can increase cognitive flexibility and also decrease craving in substance-dependent individuals under treatment. Also, this treatment can be used along with other pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments.