Comparison of multifaceted Islamic and cognitive-behavioral therapies on craving, cognitive emotion regulation, and psychological well-being in opioid-dependent patients

Addiction has caused numerous socio-psychological problems around the world as well as in the process of substance abuse treatment. To improve psychological problems and cravings, it should be focused on detoxification, drug withdrawal, and psychotherapy. The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of multifaceted Islamic therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) on the craving, cognitive emotion regulation strategies, and psychological well-being in male opioid-dependent patients.

This was a quasi-experimental interventional study in Tehran, Iran, in 2018. 60 male opioid-dependent patients were selected. They were randomly assigned to three groups of the MIT (n = 20), CBT (n = 20), and controls (n = 20). The experimental groups received 10 sessions of MIT and CBT. Tools were the Craving Beliefs Questionnaire (CBQ), Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), and the Psychological Well-being Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA).

A significant difference was observed between the mean scores of the experimental groups and the control group in the variables of craving, cognitive emotion regulation, and psychological well-being (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between the two experimental groups.

The MIT and CBT impacted the craving, cognitive emotion regulation, and psychological well-being in opioid-dependent patients. However, there were no significant differences between the two approaches