The Effectiveness of the Unified Transdiagnostic Treatment on Metacognitive Beliefs and Alexithymia in Individuals with Substance Use in Outpatient Centers

The present research aimed to determine the effectiveness of the unified transdiagnostic treatment on metacognitive beliefs and alexithymia in individuals with substance use in outpatient centers.

The research method was semi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population of the research included all men with substance use in outpatient centers of the city of Khorram Abad in 2021. Among them, 18 people were selected using the convenience sampling method and were randomly divided into two experimental (n=9) and control (n=9) groups. Subjects in the experimental group received the unified transdiagnostic treatment in eight 60-minute sessions. To collect data, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the Metacognitive Questionnaire were used. The data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U test.

The results showed that the unified transdiagnostic treatment had a significant effect on metacognitive beliefs and alexithymia.

Based on the results, it can be said that the unified transdiagnostic treatment can be used to reduce the cognitive and emotional problems of individuals with substance use.